Dispatches from a Desert Isle: Wild Cats

Surprise Animal!

I know I said I'd do owls, but I have a special surprise for you little animal lovers today. Here's a hint... turn right onto: 

Ocelot Way

Yes, the Desert is home to many a type of wild cat (great info here).

We saw some bobcats, but all they did for us was sleep.

However, there are some good videos on the internet of Benji the Bobcat, who is someone's pet. Look how big he is compared to that large dog. Yeesh.

and here's how he treats one of his humans...

Then there was the mountain lion, Cruz. There are a few there, I think, but this one is newish—moved from San Jose, just south of Berkeley, where he was seen hiding in a person's backyard. Here's his whole story. I wasn't able to get video of him, but I did send you a postcard of him, and you can watch him hunting people here: 

and looking longingly at them here:

"Play with me. No, let me eat you. Play, eat, play, eat..."

Cubs have been rescued in San Jose since then, too—see their story and pictures here.

While we were there, we learned a bit about how these big cats are like our house cats. They had skulls of a housecat, a bob cat, a mountain lion, and a jaguar. 

Wait, a JAGUAR? Why a jaguar?

Uh... because there was one spotted (no pun intended) in the Tucson area not that long ago! Jinkies!

But anyway, here's what I saw—try to see how complex the inside of their nose is...

Here's a closer-up picture from a post on a lion's skull:

Fancy-schmancy in there.

But wait, you say, why did you say I should turn on Ocelot Way if you're not going to show me an ocelot?

Well, I did see one:

C'est mignon, ce petit chat sauvage!!!!

Here's one not from me, but you get to see him in a more relaxed moment, so it's a nice one to end this post:

...mostly because it might remind you that I "lick" you very much, my wee kittens! I can not wait to get right up in your face with no screen between us!

In the meantime, here's one last video of big cat noises so you know how to tell them you love them when you go to the Desert Museum.

and this has nothing to do with the Desert Museum, but is pretty awesome anyway: