Bobcats 'pack hunt' while still family unit?

[Flintknapper]

Saw something this evening I have not witnessed before (IF I am correct in what I saw).

I was sitting in a box blind... hog hunting this evening, when about an hour before dark I noticed a Bobcat come out onto the food plot just in front of my stand (perhaps 12 yds. away). A few moments later...another B-cat (only slightly smaller) appeared and walked past the first one. Just seconds after that...another B-cat (same size as the second) popped out to my right.

I watched them for a moment...then got my cell phone out and start videoing them.

It appeared to me...to be a mature Female with 2 of her offspring still hanging around. I would guess their age to be 8-9 months old...but they were almost as big as the largest cat.

Anyway, the largest one walked across the food plot in front of me, went under the fence-line and sat down in the brush. The two other cats walked down the fence-line a bit farther, then one slipped into the brush while the last one went another 10 yards and did the same thing.

I stopped trying to take video at that point because you couldn't see through the phone what I could see with the naked eye. The largest cat stayed put while the other two made a slow sweeping half circle back to it, always staying about 25-30 ft apart.

From my elevated position...I could see all three quite clearly. The two smaller cats seemed (to me) to be trying to 'push' something toward the bigger cat. They were being very stealthy and moved deliberately (not just walking back).

Twice... the larger cat lowered itself (to reduce it's profile) though I wouldn't call it 'crouching'. The two smaller cats made their way back to the EXACT spot the largest one was, they all stood there for just a minute then faded off into the brush, once again...spreading themselves out.

Now...I know Bobcats are generally solitary...so I figure this was a 'Mom' with her overgrown babies still hanging around and I know they learn to hunt from her, but this seemed like a very purposeful tactic, one I haven't seen before and I've seen a lot of Bobcats in the wild. Pack hunting, unintentional team work, just cats being cats?

What do you guys make of it?

 

[Art Eatman]

Possibly a late stage of education before the younguns strike out on their own. It's similar to how coyotes deal with raising the pups. I've seen tracks of mature + very young cougars which indicate a similar style.

I make no claim of expertise, here, however.

 

[Flintknapper]

Whatever it was...it was a treat to watch. I left my camera in the truck this outing and regret that. Sometimes I take it with me (on stand) to snap photos and help pass the time away. Could have gotten some better video and excellent pics.

It is common (here) to see a single bobcat...and I've seen a female with 3 young ones before..(basically kittens still), but most were just traveling. These were doing something very much orchestrated.

I suspect you are right Art...probably 'Momma' posting up at a spot and letting the other two hunt their way back to her (whether real or practiced) .

My first impression of it...was that it was a co-operative effort by all three to scare up something to chase down, with the Momma cat being in position to 'intercept'.

But... I could well be over thinking it. Probably just the two getting a late 'lesson' or practicing already known skills.

 

[Sav .250]

You could be right. A family unit. Must have been a nice "show" for the time they hung around..................

 

[Flintknapper]

^^^^^

I think that would be the only plausible conclusion, since Bobcats are not pack animals. I was surprised to see them seemingly 'working together', but now think that was not the case, just my perception.

IF in the evolution of things....Bobcats were to 'pack hunt', man....what a formidable group they would make. Make Coyotes look like neophytes.

 

[Surculus]

Like you said, momma & kittens. I know they're not totally solitary: two of the yearlings from a litter 2 years ago came back the following summer & were sleeping in the shade together just outside the window of the building I work in. It was great fun watching the kittens come out at dusk & play in the area [large open lot w/ a grove of shade trees] just behind our building the previous summer. Momma would then stalk out of the dense area of growth just off to one side of the building & tell them "Get back in here!" & they'd go chasing back over to her, disappear into the brush, only to repeat the process 10 minutes later.

The campus population of rabbits thinned out considerably that year...

 

[jmorris]

Sounds like a family to me, they have to grow up before they can be on their own.

My Father sent me ths photo.

 

[Flintknapper]

^^^^^^^^^

Yes, I've seen a 'family' before...as depicted above (kittens are obvious). The group I watched had two cats only slightly smaller than the largest (presumably the Momma). They would match her in weight to within 2-3 pounds most likely.

So close in size...in fact, that my first thought was.... three adult cats were cooperatively 'hunting' together. Something I have never seen before.

In retrospect...it only makes sense that two 'late blooming' litter-mates were still hanging around with Momma. Likely to go their own separate ways....soon.

Just the same, their movements seemed very purposeful, almost tactical in the manner carried out. Certainly NOT 'play' or anything unrehearsed.

I would wager these siblings have already made their own small 'kills' (rodents, possibly birds) and don't really need to be with their Mother any longer, but I am no expert.

We have a lot of Bobcats on the property and I see them several times a year (in person). I also have a good bit of game camera video, but I had not witnessed exactly this kind of interaction before.

Anyway, I count myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to enjoy some of 'nature' as it plays out (mostly unnoticed) each and everyday.


Flint.

 

[caribou]

Lynx, Otter, Wolves, and many other 'familys" definitly travel and hunt together, and the kids learn or die.