Snapping the toddy cat by mistake

Set 464 -- a cut bank with an overhang

I set the cam under an overhang for only one reason -- something had gathered and stored wild figs there, and I suspected it was a rat.

So we baited the set with a handful of cooked rice and activated the camera. 

As an afterthought I dabbed the rock with castoreum, and that's when the cam snapped my picture.  

A few hours later this toddy cat, or common palm civet visited the site. 

(No doubt it was searching for prime coffee beans.)   

There were only two pictures.

It came . . . 

I guess it cleaned up the bait, because there was little to be seen as it made its exit.

and it went. 

The toddy cat was too big for the frame, but I couldn't complain.

I'd set the camera for rats, framed a small area.

Now it was time to snap the toddy cat.

We would have another shot at one. They're abundant and bold -- the ecological equivalent of our raccoon.

We just had to find a better place for a set, and next time I'll show you what we did.

(And if you're wondering about the rats, yes, one showed up shortly before dawn.)