The Hunt

I run and play soccer on a field near my apartment. Starting at dusk the edge of the field near an overgrown meadow is carpeted in rabbits feasting on the well-watered grass. Rabbits are pretty bold here - you can run within a few feet of them before they even move. A few nights ago I saw bobcat there with a dead rabbit in its mouth. I got close to him before he slid away.

Last night I was on the field again. In the distance, close to the fence, I saw the bobcat stalking. He'd creep close to a group of rabbits and then lope toward them, not fast, just a smooth pace. I started running toward that side of the field. The bobcat saw me running near him and froze, eyes flashing green in the dark. He seemed pretty unconcerned and started stalking again. I stopped and watched the cat dash forward and heard a shrill squeak. When the cat turned toward me I saw that it had a rabbit in its mouth, only this one wasn't dead yet. Its hind legs kicked, the bobcat holding it nonchalantly. The other rabbits keep grazing, although I thought they started running just a little bit sooner when I moved near them.

A naturalist friend told me that there aren't that many bobcats around UCI - there isn't enough habitat left and they tend to be extremely territorial. They also get hit by cars all time.