Adventure downgraded

Talked to a Park Ranger today about my animal sighting. I guess they do actually care when people see a wild animal. He wanted to know details because he tracks these things.

The Park Ranger had a touch of laid back hippie in his voice. He seemed to really like the fact that I just stood there and stared at the animal and the animal stared back. He said I was one of the lucky people who actually got to see this kind of wildlife. He was really grooving on the experience.

Turns out I might have seen a Bobcat instead of a Mountain Lion. I'm not completely convinced yet. It is way cooler to say I came face to face with a LION, not a CAT.

The spots that I saw on the face could indicate a young Mountain Lion or any age Bobcat. He asked about the ears, but I don't specifically remember taking note of them. I swear they were not as pointy as a Bobcat's. But maybe that's because he was just hanging out, chilling.

He said that if it was a young Mountain Lion, the mother would most definitely be around. Yikes! He also thought that the Mountain Lion would tend to be on top of the boulders, not lying next to them. They like to hang out in trees and other high places because that is how they hunt.

He didn't seem to think that I needed to tell everyone else on the path when I saw such a thing. He said, "Well, sure, if you want to share the experience with them, that would be great..." in that peace-and-love kind of voice. (A tiny, little bit like that painter guy who used to have a show on PBS.)

It was still a great experience and I'm going to keep my eyes open for more things like that when I take my walks. The Park Ranger told me to look for deer bucks. They've been seen lately.

MEOW!