Well, the ole wildcats got a win this week.
And not on a sports field.
Appears the parent company of d-CON has decided not to fight the bans by the EPA and State of California on its second generation anti-coagulating rat poisons, and will be taking them off the shelf.
Thus helping to prevent the inadvertent death of wildlife living around us humans.
And while I doubt animal altruism was their core motivation, I'll take the win. And celebrate with a few of my cam trap photo series of bobs that haven't yet made it to this blog.
But I'll also add - I hope d-CON puts smart engineers on the problem and comes up with safe and effective solutions. Because, if you've ever truly hung around farms and ranches and like, you know that rodents can really get outta hand, and feral cats and snap traps can do only so much. I.e., it's a tough problem that would benefit from cooperation over confrontation.
And at another location...
And another...
And another...
And finally...
Such characters.
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References:
- Earth Justice - d-CON Agrees to Pull Super-Toxic Rat Poisons From Stores
- LA Times - Maker of powerful rat poison will cease production in July
- Nature of a Man (this blog) - Death By 1,000 Cuts
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Nice! You get so many great 'cat pics.... Well done again, RT!
ReplyDeleteThanks TB. The bobs are still pretty common out here in CA, so I do get them often. Let's hope that continues.
Deleteyay bobs!!! I saw a bobcat as I was pausing in my hike out this evening after climbing over the top of M. Hill. It had really red-orange flanks. We watched each other for a few minutes then one of us slinked off into the brush. A few minutes later, I found a steaming pile of scat on the trail. When I got home, I checked the photos of the trail cam from that location and I think the hair in that scat must have been rabbit. A note about d-CON is they said they will no longer be making SGARs for consumer market but they will still be making it in formulations for professional pest applicators. So if you hire a pest control company, ask them to explain what kind of bait they are putting in that black tamper-proof box (which protects pets and children) and if the location and use will also prevent the rodenticide from getting into the wildlife population by secondary poisoning. A conscientous pest control company will answer your questions, advise you on preventative/exclusion methods, and design a control program that will not affect wild predators.
ReplyDeleteHey, is that bobcat in photo #13 scraping with its back feet? Or maybe just leaving a dark spray mark on the rock behind it. That's an "I did a good job" feline squint in the next photo. I didn't know bob kittens were so fuzzy per photo #19.
ReplyDeleteYep, the bobcat sprays the rock in that series. The photo of the bobkittens was taken in November in the Sierra foothills, so I think they're fluffy with winter coats. But those paws!
DeleteThose are some fun pix. Thanks for the smiles.
ReplyDeleteI have already looked at all of them at least three times...thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat collection, as always :)
ReplyDeleteI find the colour variation interesting. The first bob looks remarkably different to the last one. Is the colour variation localised? Were the two bobs photographed far apart in different areas/habitats? Can you expect to find lots of variation in colour at any random location? Or is it seasonal?
Yes on all counts, Henry. Bobcat pelage will both show commonality and vary some by area, by climate, by age, by time of year… Most are the soft orangish-brown like the first series, but others can be quite silvery, including older animals with gray hair. I've seen a few that are quite orange, and others with very leopard-like spots. That last 2 bobcats in this post, the bobkittens, are from the Sierra Nevada foothills during fall/winter, so have seasonal fur and coloring. Of course, I expect you can see that the white/color balance on some of these photos isn't perfect, too - some a tad yellow, others a tad red.
DeleteSome of the bobcats look like they have been spending too much time with the catnip. Out for a late night munchie run?
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly, none of these were catnip sets. I haven't tried it in a couple of years. Just good ole character bobs that like to perform. :)
DeleteAwesome pictures!
ReplyDelete