By Dan Weisz
Recently, the “occasional” Wildcat that passes by returned. Late one afternoon while I was in the kitchen, I saw him drinking from the water dishes in the back.
I immediately grabbed my camera which often sits on our kitchen table, and opened a window to the porch. The noise of the window’s opening startled the bobcat.
In a September, 2015 article, the magazine Psychology Today stated: “The gesture of sticking out one’s tongue can have multiple meanings. It can be an act of rudeness, disgust, playfulness, or outright sexual provocation.” In this case, I believe all it meant was that the bobcat was still thirsty.
And while it kept its eyes on the window and my camera lens, it lowered its head and returned to drinking.
And then it paid no more attention to me.
The wildcat finished and began to walk off across the back porch. It stopped behind the tangerine cross-vine plant and peeked out at me once more.
Enough with the tongue! But it continued studying and staring.
And then it walked off, with one last tongue-licking of course.
Bobcats weigh between 15 and 30 pounds. They get their name from their shortened, or bobbed, tail.
A wildcat’s range may vary from as little as one square mile to as big as 12 square miles depending mostly on food availability. A cat will have many resting spots and safe places in its territory. I am very happy that my house is one of the spots it passes through regularly.
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