When you’re an animal living in the wild, life isn’t always easy. And this is especially true if you’re not at the top of the food chain. Most animals, even predatory ones, will always have someone bigger and stronger than they are. But for one spirited bobcat, escaping from a predator by climbing up a 40-foot cactus was it’s saving grace!
So imagine you’re a bobcat living in the desert trying to avoid being someones prey.
It’s hot, and I mean, HOT.
And there are all kinds of animals from all different species surrounding you at any given moment. For a territorial animal living in this harsh climate, they must always be on guard. They are always ready to defend what is theirs.
In Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, cameras were recently able to catch a glimpse of a truly impressive sight.
A lovely view of Arizona’s famous Sonora Desert
In terms of an animal coming up with a clever way to survive, this is a first for us!
Indigenous to the region are the Giant Saguaro Cactus that are sparsely scattered all over the desert and surrounding southwest areas.
The enormous plant thrives in the dry climate and can grow up to 40′ high at full maturity, which takes many, many years.
For professional nature photographer Curt Fonger, he was able to capture a rare and incredible feat by one bobcat evading a mountain lion he had provoked after encroaching on their territory.
“A friend called me at 7am saying one of his workers had seen a bobcat being chased by a mountain lion…It ran across the road in front of his car and climbed up a large saguaro cactus at the roadside, with the lion hot on its tail. The lion didn’t pursue the bobcat up the cactus but circled the base…It looked up at the bobcat, growled several times, then turned around and trotted back up from where it had come. The mountain lion probably had cubs, the bobcat had intruded on its territory and she gave chase to warn the bobcat not to come close to her young family.”
A neighbor in the area was able to capture the cactus climbing bobcat on video, sharing it with the world on YouTube as well.
Normally, resting atop of a cactus does NOT seem comfortable. But it appears that the bobcat used it as an opportunity to rest, catnap, and watch the world below.
Cats, both domesticated and wild, are truly amazing beings, aren’t they? Hopefully we can do our part and respect these cats of the wild. So we can all continue to live safely together for years to come.
“It’s a successful story of a bobcat avoided being eaten by a mountain lion with a happy ending of it’s successful exit back into the desert.” — Curt Fonger
REMEMBER: BIG CATS DON’T MAKE GOOD PETS; THEY BELONG IN THE WILD!
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To the person who captured this on video,I say: Thank you!
The mountain could’ve climbed up the cactus and killed the bobcat if it wanted to. It was just scaring the bobcat and warning him to stay away.
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awesome video. Thanks for the share