Name (Research ID) 
Click on a bobcat's name to read it's bio

Photos (click on thumbnail to enlarge)

The Old Male (M01 - Mallory Swamp)

This is the Old Male. In these photos, he is sedated. Collar attachment and biomedical evaluation had just occurred. He was released into the wild within one hour of capture. I recall my most vivid accounts with him as including those occasions I would come up on him while tracking and he'd be on the far side of a creek hiding from me. I'd move close to him just to get a glimpse and then I'd hear a most penetrating growl of disapproval. Of course, I'd mind him and back off. After 18 months of tracking, he was killed by an alligator on the far west side of the swamp proper. His grave was but a desolate place far and removed from the civilized world, as were all the territories of my bobcats in the north Florida study. He lay 14 feet deep in a creek under a fallen tree where the alligator had stowed his body for cache. There was nothing I could do. I could not even recover his body. So, with tears about to swell from within, I shed a boot, tied a red bandana to its laces, and cast it into the water as his memorial. The boot was a Vietnam jungle boot I had worn for years and that which had assisted me in his tracking for over a year. That would be humanity's gesture to his noble life. I named him The Old Male because he was at least 10 years old based on the extent of tooth wear. This is truly a successful animal as the mean longevity of wild bobcats is only 7 years.

I recall that about 8 miles north of the northern tip of his home range, there was a lone country church on a lone country road that stretched for miles in either direction without leading to any semblance of civilization. After his death, as I passed that church, I could hear solemn hymns playing in my mind. I could see his memorial in that swamp. I could see his life flash before me, even though I hadn't witnessed his birth, and had only a mere snapshot of his life through the 18 months of tracking. There it was as clear as a bell - a life from A to Z, one that had lived and lived well, one that was complete - an animal born into a world with troubles, yet one that survived to the bitter end through each day of trial and tribulation, having to forage for his sustenance every day of his life. Though the alligator took his life in the end, he kept up the fight to live on, again, up to the bitter end. And so, then, here we have it... the sheer will-power to thrive - this then, is longing! Funny, don't humans have the same aspirations?

Tim's Buddy (M02 - Mallory Swamp)

This boy kept on going and going. And when I left the Mallory Swamp in late 1997, he was still alive and going. What was his claim to fame in my mind? He kept me company on many a lonely night deep in the swamps as I tracked he and his cohort. But one account is special. He had been laid up within a patch of shrub swamp for a few days. No mortality signal having initiated from the collar, I surmised he was either ill or was taking his time with a large deer he may have killed. But after 48 hours of no movement, I became concerned and resigned to staying out all night with him, maintaining a vigilance from 100 yards away with my radio-tracking receiver. Finally, just after midnight, the signal began to fluctuate. He was moving! Ten minutes later he emerged into the swamps edge. I could tell he was close by the strength of the radio signal. So, I turned on my flashlight and pointed it into the thick brush that lined the titi swamp. There, as luminescent as stars on a moonless night were his two amber eyes reflecting back to me from 20 feet away. They wavered to and fro as he sought to resolve my form. I shut the light off and left him in his placid place, now content he was still alive. 

Tim's Buddy was one of the cats that Christin Burford of CARE Foundation had assisted me with tracking in the summer of 1996. 

Isabella (F03 - Mallory Swamp)

An old woman, she was still as capable as a young buck. This lady survived as long as she did because of sheer will. She was still alive on the last fix in late 97. In the top photo, she was captured a second time by me several months after her initial capture and collaring. I'm not sure why, but when I released her, she just laid prone as is shown on the photo. I had some jazz music playing in my Jeep's cassette deck. I think it was Spyro Gyra. She just looked up at the speakers with curiosity as the music seemed to calm her down. Such gave me the ability to photo her in this surrealistic play of interaction between cat and man. Growls dissipated throughout the 30 minutes she remained in my presence, having been replaced by the sound of a smooth and cool breeze that flailed her fur.

The King (M04 - Mallory Swamp)

This guy should have been nicknamed 'Thumper' due to the fact that he was responsible for most of the local litters with at least several nearby females.

When Ntwadumela was killed, The King expanded his territory to include Ntwadumela's former range. With this, he gained more access to more females. 

His mates included Lil' Sis, Thicket Dancer, Bobby's Mom, and The King's Girl.

He was still alive and very much reproductively  active at the conclusion of the north Florida study.

Lil Sis (F05 - Mallory Swamp)

Lil' Sis was still alive at the conclusion of the north Florida study.

Miss North by NorthWest (F06 - Mallory Swamp)

My lasting impression of Miss North by North West: when after two years of tracking in north Florida and seeing half of my study animals die, for such having left a bitter taste in me about life and death, I was witness to the thing that makes all smile, human and otherwise: her impregnation and litter bearing to new lives. I'm not sure which one of my males got her pregnant, and at this point I didn't really care; for the mere fact that life was soon to be renewed was all the medicine I needed. 

There she was - 100 yards forward of my observation post on the northwest side of the study area. I had parked the jeep about a half mile to the south and followed the trail at its hem in a crouched position. The signal got stronger. I drew down to a prone position and peered through the scope. There she was - waddling with a fat womb as she haphazardly walked along the edge of the trail. This lady was most pregnant. I was very happy. Life does go on, even in the midst of death as to that which I had witnessed in this cohort of felines.

She was still alive and in late stages of pregnancy when the north Florida study ended. 

Miss Westerly (F07 - Mallory Swamp)

She had reared a litter of 3 kittens to 3 months of age when, after one year of tracking, she had mysteriously died deep within the interior of a vast and deep hardwood swamp. I found her body floating in 3 feet of water amidst cypress and gum trees. To this day I do not know how she died. But what I do know is that 3 helpless kittens had likely perished soon thereafter when their mother did not return.

Ntwadumela (M08 - Mallory Swamp)

This male was killed by a hunter after only 3 months of radio-tracking. He was shot in the hind leg by a high powered rifle, suffered a shattered femur, succumbed to massive infection of the wound, blood poisoning, starvation, and shock. After 4 days of delirium, he painfully limped his way into a tree fall and brushy den at the edge of a marsh and died in his sleep. When I found him, he was lying on his side with his eyes and face pointed to the marsh. I crawled into the den, laid down where he was, and looked out to see that which was his last view in this world:  brilliant amberous waves of marsh grass moving lazily in the autumn wind, a blue sky above at their tips, and wisps of cottony clouds transecting that sky. I also recall the night before he had died: an endless sea of stars with a crescent moon; whipper whirls chiming in the distance; and peepers singing amidst the aquatic foliage. Then I recall his face as I had found it: his eyes were open and it was as if he wanted a lasting look at the life he had known - a final closure to a certain love of life. Funny, I think many humans do this on their death beds!    

Thicket Dancer (F09 - Mallory Swamp)

This female had mysteriously died in the winter of 1997 after 6 months of tracking. I found her body within the hollow trunk cavity of a very large and dead oak tree that was within a mixed swamp. The tree had but one way in and out of it - a small circular opening at the point where a branch once originated from the trunk. The opening was about 14 feet above the ground and I had to go into Branford to buy a ladder from a hardware store to gain access to the hole. Using a gaffing hook, I was then able to penetrate the interior of the hollow trunk through the hole and snag her collar, thereby being able to lift her out of the tree's interior. From necroscopic study, it was surmised that she had become ill and went into the seclusion of the tree to deal with her illness. But such was to no avail and it was there that she died. She was immensely underweight at death and her stomach contained a couple of twigs, leaves, and fluid. In her illness and attempts to survive, she had apparently made a meal of the material within the bottom of the hollow cavity.  She was named Thicket Dancer because she had led myself, my hounds man, and his 4 cat hounds on a long and trying pursuit into a dense thicket of fetterbush after 1 mile and 1 hour of chase cross country during her initial capture.

Ahau Akbal (M10 - Mallory Swamp)

Akbal had died of unknown causes after having been radio tracked for over a year. His skeleton had been recovered at the site of death and is now used as an educational artifact.

Bobby (M11 - Mallory Swamp)

X-rays of a fractured femur that Bobby experienced as a juvenile. One marrow (long) pin, one plate and nine screws, 3 wire wraps, and 2 transverse pins are visible. Also visible is the oblique fracture just above the knee. Total cost of in-hospital care including surgery to install the hardware and convalescence (total ten days): $1018.00

The photos at right are of him as he is being fitted with a new radio-collar while under sedation and then as he is being released back into the wild after full recovery from his injury. 

Click on his name above to read the story of his injury and of his life.

Bobby's Mom (F12 - Mallory Swamp)

Bobby's mom was still alive at the conclusion of the north Florida study.

The King's Girl (F13 - Mallory Swamp)

This very small adult female was killed by a car on SR 349 and that event had orphaned 3 kittens which were estimated at 3 months of age. They too likely perished.

Sweety 349 (F14 - Mallory Swamp)

This beautiful female was viciously killed by a hunter who had shot her with an arrow from a tree stand. I found her body 50 yards down range from the stand. Her stomach and liver had been lacerated by the arrow, which had been removed from the scene by the hunter. She likely died by massive bleeding and likely not very quickly.

Shelly's Boy (M15 - Mallory Swamp)

Shelly' boy has an interesting story which will be up on this site soon. At right, his teeth are being examined as part of the biomedical evaluation that occurs on all our radio-collared animals. He was still alive at the conclusion of the north Florida study.

Mandevu (M01 - Brevard County) 

This young juvenile had proven to be a valuable source for ecological data since his movements in the wild had shown us where some of the most important wildlife corridors existed. This photo was taken just prior to his release back into the wild after capture and radio-collaring. He had died in 1999 by ingestion of rat poison laid out by a nearby restaurant.

Suntree (F02 - Brevard County)

She had been captured at a local zoo where the director had threatened to kill her. We intervened and rescued her, collared her, then released her back into her area. We told the zoo that if they didn't want predators to kill their show birds, then they had to fortify the zoo's perimeter fence and NOT blame the predators for merely wanting to survive. To this day, the zoo has failed to pay heed to our advice and more of their collection has been preyed upon. FACT - humans cannot control the natural world, but must merely learn to co-exist. Suntree lives on.

Tico (M03 - Brevard County)

Tico lives on.

Belle (F04 - Brevard County)

Belle lives on.

Hairlip (M05 - Brevard County)

Hairlip's signal was lost last year, but there is every reason to believe that he still lives on and had made a long range dispersal.

Skip, aka Chrissy's Buddy (M06 - Brevard County)

Skip was killed in cold blood by a chicken farmer that was too lazy to fortify his chicken coops and too trigger happy to kill the predator. This animal has become an icon for recent research by Chrissy Klinkowski from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Little Big Foot (M07 - Brevard County)

Little Big Foot was a 5 month old male kitten we had captured in the Eastern Florida Flatwoods. He was tracked for about 2 months and was then attacked and killed by wild dogs in his natal den area. As his region was not known to be occupied by coyotes or red wolves, there was one shocking conclusion: the members of canidae that killed him were of a domestic origin - dogs owned and allowed to roam free by the careless human owners that have no consideration for the damage their animals cause to wildlife. 

April (F08 - Brevard County)

April was another one of those cats that had given me and my fellow researchers incredible amounts of information as to how bobcats use corridors of forested land within a severely fragmented landscape. We named her April because that was the month in which we captured her. She continues to live and is still being tracked.

Happy (F09 - Brevard County)

Happy continues to be tracked.

Weiner (F10 - Brevard County)

Weiner continues to be tracked.

Additional bobcats studied - Soon to be updated

RK1 to RK35

Bobcats killed by vehicles and not radio-collared. These bobcats were necropsied for biomedical research.