Elk tamper

 I arrived to check my camera only to find the angle had been altered and it was pointing into the trees. I had an idea what it was, the elk around here have proven to be really curious and funny animals. you'll notice the first one is a bull elk that has shed its rack, then I think the nudger is the same one with its small antlers growing back. below are a couple older trail cam photos of the same group of elk for reference.

Grey fox 2

 this is from a camera trap set in paso robles california that included striped skunk, mule deer and domestic cow. but most noteworthy this gray fox, native to california but under increasing pressure from the introduced eastern redfox that has been competing for territory and prey. The grey fox is becoming one of my favorites.

Bobcat

lynx rufus

 One of my favorite wild animals in our area and one that I have posted here before from my trail cameras. the taxonomy name is lynx rufus with a sub species here in california of lynx rufus californicus. these photos were taken in cambria california while this bobcat was stalking some gopher holes waiting for one to pop its head up, a traight that is also done by domestic house cats now.

 Bobcats are very stealthy often crouching down and waiting for there prey to get near and then pouncing on it, and able to jump 10 feet. I usually only see bobcats near the road when i'm driving but if i do notice them in nature they are usually displaying this behaviour.

 

 This is a resident bobcat i see occasionally in person near lake nacimiento california and somewhat commonly on my trail cameras. with a relatively small range once you find one you can usually count on seeing it again. i've read they travel 2 to 7 miles a night to hunt and live on average 6-12 years of age. I've had one jump out of a tree in front of my truck when i was driving through, and another let me follow it around for awhile just as curious about me as i was about it. This bobcat in these videos lives in an area rich with ground squirrels and cotton tail rabbits which i also get frequently on video or picture, the cat also shares this area with wild boar, coyote and fox.