The “magic hour” had arrived when it was neither day nor night! And I’d been watching a shadowy figure moving in and out of the hardwoods below me for almost half an hour. This gray afternoon, with darkness slowly and gently overtaking me, was soon to rob me of this glorious October day. I remained laser focused on the careful, steady gait of this figure whose path would soon bring it directly in front of my tree stand. I was watching even more closely now while studying every subtle movement, and as the animal continued moving forward, I realized for the first time since it appeared that the chance of it being a deer was over. The large bobcat, with features becoming more impressive by the minute, continued moving closer one cautious step at a time, finally stopping directly in front of me. It was peering around, searching for prey, danger, or whatever else was on its mind. Good fortune had suddenly found me on this late October afternoon as the creature was, without a doubt, the largest bobcat I’d ever seen.

The length of its body was so impressive, which confirmed that it was an adult. The paws appeared to be exceptionally large, the jet-black tip protruding from the end of its short tail was huge, and I was astonished by the size of both. The space between its eyes, while not as great as its cousin the “Canadian Lynx,” was far greater than anything I’d ever seen in a Bobcat before. Its coat was perfectly fitted to its body. The darkish gray and tan spots, evenly placed stripes on its legs, flanks, and belly were far bigger than what you might usually see on an eastern bobcat. And as the creature moved away from me in the fast-fading light, it took on an appearance almost spirit-like, stopping occasionally to check the wind and its backtrack while carefully analyzing everything around it. I was amazed that it didn’t pick up my scent, which made me think, despite not having seen a deer all afternoon, I must be doing something right.

As I finally lost sight of the animal, it appeared to be more like an apparition than any other animal I’d ever seen. Then, in the quiet of darkness, for just a moment, my mind began to whirl with second-guessing about what I had just seen. And it felt great just knowing that bobcats are with us, in our woodlands, right here where we live, and in stable numbers. It wasn’t always that way, though!

In the past bobcats were viewed as both varmint and predator. Until 1968, it was legal to hunt bobcat year-round with bounty paid for harvesting one. In 1971, Massachusetts was the first state in the northeast to reclassify the bobcat as a game animal with a regulated hunting season established. Since then, bobcat populations in New England have risen dramatically. Today bobcat populations are at an all-time high and have become well established as an important natural resource in Massachusetts. Bobcats are classified as a furbearer, and state wildlife officials have created solid management programs to help sustain, nurture, and secure their continued success. Bobcats are classic predators who follow consistent hunting routines, and their diet consists of small-game, domestic cats, porcupines, skunks, foxes, and ruff grouse. They will occasionally take down larger game during unusually harsh conditions. Breeding season runs from February into March as females are receptive during this period. Kits are born from mid-April to mid-May, and by autumn are hunting on their own, but still staying close to their mothers. Bobcat tracks are sometimes confused with tracks of domestic house cats, although adult bobcats prints are larger than a house cat. Their front paws have five toes while the back paws have only four. The fifth toe on the front paw is high on the forefeet, so it doesn’t leave an impression when it walks. The claws leave no impression(s) as they retract just like a housecat “ghost-like,” as they move silently along forest floor!

Of course, just knowing that bobcats are out there lends itself to a broader and richer sense of what it means to be a part of all that’s wild. Even if it’s just the thought of them, and other wild creatures like them, that draws you out and into the outdoors, you’ll always end up richer for the experience. And who knows, you might even find what you’re looking for! The track of a New England bobcat have now become a very real part of our New England landscape; like a “spirit,” while taking us back into the pureness of another place and a simpler time!

Joe Judd is a lifelong hunter and sportsman. He is an outdoor writer, seminar speaker, member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association, and a 2019 inductee into the N.E. Turkey Hunting Hall of Fame. Joe is also on the Quaker Boy Game Calls and Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Pro-Staff. He can be reached at jjontheridge@comcast.net