Photo by NPS.
NatureOutside reader A., sent me a remarkable video the other day. A relative’s doorbell camera caught a bobcat (Lynx rufus) and a coyote (Canis latrans) traveling together at night. The video was captured in Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
It is not uncommon for a coyote to travel with another animal. There is a long history of coyotes and badgers traveling together. They hunt ground squirrels cooperatively, with the badger going into the den and the coyote grabbing any squirrels that surface. I have written about this strange relationship here.
But coyotes and bobcats are generally competitors and often hostile toward one another. It is rare for them to associate. I did some research and there are documented cases of them traveling together and engaging in non-aggressive interactions. But this is the first evidence I’ve seen. Wow!
A 2022 meta-analysis published by Ohio University researchers suggests that competitive interactions between coyotes and bobcats are largely a function of prey availability. Where prey is plentiful (usually in heterogeneous habitat), the two species do not need to compete.
But this video captures a rare and wonderful site. It shows that Nature can still surprise us. As Kephart said, “In the school of the woods there is no graduation day.”
Thank you again to A. and her relative for allowing me to post this video for all to enjoy.
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