What goes in gotta come out

Bobcat with Botta's pocket gopher,  Jan 19, 2011 at 10:36AM

With this post we are back at the Chimineas Ranch where winter storms washed out most of the back country roads.

Cattleman Ross made the roads right again, and Todd finally made the camera trap rounds on a quad.

Yesterday Craig sent good tidings,  "All cams we set out in November made it through the winter fine and there was no water damage. All are accounted for."

What you see here are a few of the recently downloaded photos from set 421 made last November.

"The amazing thing about this set, "writes Craig,"  is that the cam operated for the entire period from November 9, 2010 to February 24, 2011. That's 107 days!"

I know a lot of camera trappers make their home brews compact, but there's something to be said for 2 D cells as backup power. You just have to settle for bigger housing.

The bobcat made its appearance with a pack lunch of fresh pocket gopher, which looks like it was taking its last breath.

Take note where it placed the gopher, and its interest in the depressed area beyond.

Bobcat looks at the latrine

You could say it put the gopher on the toilet seat, because our cat, or another one just like it perched in the very same place 3 weeks later.

I don't think there's any debate about what it's doing.

Feb 11, 2011 at 12:08AM

Craig viewed all the photos at this set and reports that bobcats visited the depression several other times.

It may well be a latrine, and we'll check it out to satisfy our curiosity when the weather warms up.

No doubt the cat or cats devoured quite a few gophers between the input and output photos.