David Schneider and his wife had just pulled into their driveway when he spotted something furry at the edge of his yard. A quick look at the animal’s stripes, spots and ears told Schneider he was looking at a bobcat.
David Schneider
“I ran inside to get the camera out,” Schneider told The Dodo. “It was only after I had started taking a bunch of photos that I realized there were two of them.”
For the next hour, two bobcats turned Schneider’s yard into their personal playground.
David Schneider
Keeping his distance, Schneider watched in awe from about 25 yards away as the pair wrestled like house cats, tumbling and frolicking through the grass.
“Occasionally, they’d get on their hind legs, sort of like kangaroos fighting,” Schneider said. “Sneak attacks. Running after each other … They ran up a tree, too.”
David Schneider
With his camera in action mode, Schneider snapped “literally more than 1,000 photos of them playing.”
Based on the bobcats’ sizes and interactions, Schneider suspects they are a mama and kitten pair.
David Schneider
“The most special part of it was how they would bump heads and faces,” he said. “It is a sweet, intimate expression and a window into the deeply personal bond these beautiful creatures forge. A real ‘awwww’ moment.”
David Schneider
Schneider lives in Santa Clarita, California, with a hill at the edge of his yard. He often sees bobcats and other wildlife, like coyotes and red-shouldered Cooper’s hawks, prowling his property. He once spotted a bobcat investigating his patio.
David Schneider
Schneider often works from home, a camera always nearby to capture these magical moments in nature.
“Seeing their markings up close was amazing,” Schneider said of the playful mama and baby. “They are beautiful animals. It almost looks like they have white eyeliner on.”
David Schneider
He also recognizes the importance of appreciating these wild creatures from a distance.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says bobcats give birth to their litters in the late spring or early summer, so the kitten Schneider saw was probably between 4 and 7 months old. Soon, the baby will leave Mama for life as an independent bobcat, helping California’s ecosystem stay balanced and healthy.
David Schneider
“[I’m] very lucky that they are close by,” he said. “And feel safe enough around us to be themselves.”
