Return of the beige panther

I moved the camera closer to the boulder last week, and used three lures--the Furfindr, castoreum, and fresh crushed catmint--to attract whatever is out there. I wasn't really expecting another appearance by the beige panther, but the surprise image is what gives camera trapping its thrill.

So today I found 19 photos of the very same cat I posted here a couple weeks ago. The cat with the notched left ear seems to be spending her time in the two ravines on either side of the house.

Study her changing mood. As you can see above, when she arrived at 3:24 AM on April 27th, she was immediately drawn to the scent of the castoreum and catmint.

Next, she settled on the rock and waited for the noisy prey (the Furfindr) to appear. Ahhh, the patience of a cat. The noise-making device, however, was hanging 7 feet above her tail.



The miserable rodent failed to present itself; so she adjusted her position.



Now her head was beneath the periodically sqaulling rodent locked in a section of PVC (just kidding, troops -- it's really a recording device).



She finally accepted defeat, and satisfied herself with a few more snorts of catmint and beaver scent. Then she sat there with the unmistakable look of a forlorn puss.



After twenty six minutes of trying to see, smell, and find the elusive rodent, she parted ways.

Wet cat on a rainy night

I've had a camera trained on this mossy rock since December 6. Though I've used scent and sound lures to attract game, it’s not a very active place. I was going to pull it today, but I got a surprise when I checked the pictures.

This photo was taken 4 days ago (Feb 9) during the long overdue winter showers. Unfortunately, the wetting agent I used on the camera lens window didn’t prevent water drops, and I guess it's time to get serious about placing a couple of external flashes for better lighting. I mean, this could happen again. If the mossy rock is on the cat's beat, I can expect the next visit in 7 weeks (see "The owl and the pussy cats", December 2006).

What is it looking for? It's looking for the "canned rabbit". That’s a digital player that sounds like a distressed rabbit in a tin can. I hung it on an overhead limb on January 27. It plays for 5 seconds about every half-minute all-night-long.

My wife was with me the last time I checked the canned rabbit's batteries. When I switched it on for the test run she asked, "What in the world are you doing?".

"I gotta test it, don't I."

"Well, you don’t have to test it when I'm here." She insisted that we depart immediately before the place was crawling with mountain lions or bears.

That was February 3rd. Six days later big kitty heard the canned rabbit up in a live oak and posed on the mossy rock.