After a long hike through the forest, we all get hungry. You do. I do. And bobcats certainly do.
Now, the rest of us wouldn’t go tromping through the woods with a pretty chubby-looking gray squirrel in our mouths, but who are we to pass judgment on this hungry cat? A kitty’s gotta eat, after all.
John Green sent us this trail camera image, captured two and a half years ago in the southern Maine town of Alfred.
Or, to be more precise, Green’s photo was taken during the summer of 2018 when Mainers were practically overtaken by a horde of rampaging squirrels. Or something like that.
The situation was getting so odd, and so many people were talking about seeing dozens of smooshed squirrels on our roadways, I wrote a story about the ongoing squirrelpocalypse.
“Last year was such a phenomenal seed year for a whole multitude of species, from hardwood mast to softwood trees, maple, cedar, ash, pine cones, cedar cones. All of the abundant food provided a lot for the squirrels,” Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologist Kendall Marden said at the time.
That led to a squirrel population explosion, and (oops) more squirrels running across roads, in front of cars.
It might have also led, I would suggest, to the squirrels getting a bit bigger and slower than they’d been in the past.
And the bobcats, like this one, weren’t complaining a bit.
Do you have a trail camera photo or video to share? Send it to jholyoke@bangordailynews.com and tell us “I consent to the BDN using my photo.” In order to prevent neighbors from stopping by to try to tag particularly large bucks, moose or bears, some identities and towns of origin may be omitted.
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