Some mornings start quiet, then flip in an instant. Yesterday at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, I watched a whitetail doe square off with a bobcat right on the auto tour road.
Early light on the auto tour road
It was about 67 degrees, and the light was just getting good when I started driving the refuge road. My friend and fellow photographer Mia was with me again.
As we rolled along, I mentioned how I usually see bobcats out here, but I had not spotted one in a while. That comment aged fast.
Wildlife Notes: Doe bobcat showdown
At a four-way intersection, we noticed a whitetail doe standing near the edge of the road. As I eased the truck into position, I saw a bobcat in the roadway too.
We stepped out quietly and used the open doors as a simple blind. The bobcat did not seem bothered. It even paused to groom itself right there on the road, which felt almost unreal at that distance.
A few minutes later, the bobcat wandered south and slipped into an overgrown field. We tried to follow with our eyes, but it vanished into the vegetation.
A second bobcat and a fast decision
While we were watching the first bobcat, we heard the doe “blowing.” She was focused toward the field, not toward us. To me, that sounded like an alarm.
I can’t say what set her off for sure. In the moment, I wondered if there were kittens nearby, or if another cat was moving unseen in the cover. That part is speculation. What I do know is this, the doe’s body language said, “Something is not right.”
When we returned to the intersection, the scene escalated. The doe charged at another bobcat. The bobcat dropped into a defensive posture, then kept glancing my way as I moved for photos.
The doe came in again. The bobcat looked like it was deciding whether I was the bigger problem. Then it turned, walked a short distance down the road, and paused to look back once more before slipping into the brush.
I believe the doe had a fawn close by and was protecting it. I did not see a fawn, so I’m basing that on the doe’s intensity and persistence.
This moment reminded me of another protective stand-off I photographed. If you want that story too, it’s here: Doe Protecting Fawn | A Mother’s Fearless Resolve
A funny footnote
In the middle of all that action, I wondered why Mia wasn’t shooting too. Later I learned she got tangled in her seat belt and could not get out of the truck fast enough. It was funny after the fact, but not in the moment.