Unique Adaptations

Adaptability is vital for successful hunting, and for most species hunting is vital for survival.

Everything with a heartbeat hunts. Whether it’s a robin cocking its head to listen for worms underground, a red fox working a freshly mowed hay field for mice, a pack of wolves rousing a herd of caribou to identify the weak or sick, or a person patiently waiting in a deer stand – it’s hunting.

Unquestionably, one of the most important ingredients to successful hunting is the ability to adapt. Adapt to the environment or habitat, adapt to current conditions, adapt to specific traits of the hunted. All adaptations will vary from species to species and individual to individual because adaptation is a learned behavior.

Learning to adapt

At a very young age, learned behavior is acquired from parents, siblings, or others from within the species. In some cases, the behavior is learned by the young from watching the parents’ actions repeatedly. For some species, such as humans, a more formal learning process often takes place.

In both cases, adapting to the environment and other specific circumstances in which the individual finds itself modifies the learned behaviors, which are then passed on from generation to generation.

To hunt successfully, a species needs to possess information about how to correctly carry out a range of complex behaviors and actions, and know the right set of circumstances in which to perform each behavior.

The story

It was a cloudy, gloomy day with occasional drizzle. Far from ideal conditions to create beautiful photographs, although, in wildlife photography, dealing with the weather “comes with the territory.” Admittedly, the rainy weather, now in its third day, had dampened my motivation; that is, until I slowly drove past a flooded marshy area.

Looking out the passenger window, I scanned a small body of water within the marsh for ducks. As I slowly drove along the gravel road, the marsh would visually come and go, as tall bushes would temporarily block the view to the water.

I heard the faint quacking of a duck in the reeds close to the road. Up ahead, some tall bushes along the roadside would be the perfect place to pull over and get my gear out before walking back to where I heard the duck. Suddenly, as I passed the last small opening to the marsh, some movement in the water along the outer edge of the marsh caught my attention. I did a double-take as the truck slowly passed the opening before pulling over behind the tall bushes. Did I just see a bobcat up to its chest in water? I sat for a moment dumbstruck by what I thought I saw, it just didn’t make any sense – cats and water don’t mix!

Near disaster

Knowing that time was of the essence, I grabbed my camera that was on the passenger seat with a 70-400mm anti-vibration lens attached. Quietly, I opened the truck door and began to still-hunt along the roadside, using the tall bushes to my advantage. I could hear the duck quacking, but now it seemed farther away. Peeking around the bushes, I studied the area where the small body of water met the marsh – nothing was there. I decided to wait, crouched down and concealed by the bushes, in hopes the cat would return.

Only a few minutes had passed when I heard the sound of movement in the water. Then disaster struck, or was about to, as an approaching vehicle began to slow down. This vehicle could actually work in my favor, as I hoped the bobcat would be distracted and think that vehicle was me driving away. However, if they stopped, right there in front of the opening, it would surely spook the cat.

I quickly realized there was only one thing I could do to answer any curiosity as to why I was there and to prevent the vehicle from stopping. I stood up along the tall bushes and turned toward the bushes in a posture that could only mean one thing – a nature call. The plan worked, as the vehicle immediately accelerated and passed by as its passengers decided not to look in my direction.

No sooner had the vehicle gotten beyond my location when I heard movement in the water. Any opportunity I would have would only last for a few seconds, so I preset my exposure and slowly moved to the opening. The bobcat saw me immediately, as I fired off a few frames. It quickly disappeared into the thick reeds as I could hear it wading through the water.

I decided to find a concealed area to sit and wait in hopes that it may return. While sitting there, I realized that when I came onto the scene the bobcat was in the process of sneaking up on the duck that was along the edge by the road. My vehicle caused the bobcat to break its hunt, which allowed the duck to swim off through the tall reeds.

About fifteen minutes had gone by when about twenty yards away, but visually concealed; I heard a loud splash followed by the mournful quacking of a duck. The loud quacking quickly softened and the hunt was over.

One smart cat

The bobcat is a skillful hunter by any measure. Although, what is intriguing is that this particular bobcat, living in a huge marshy area, had adapted not only to hunting in its environment but also to hunting the most abundant prey in the environment. It is not only amazing that a cat would hunt in chest deep water; it also leaves the unanswered question as to how this unique learned adaptation came about.

Although we will never know the answer, for me, witnessing this adaptation was a cherished experience.

Good shooting!

For questions or comments, e-mail: mail@davidamurray.com.

David A. Murray’s Wildlife & Outdoor Images ™ at 31 Commercial St., in Boothbay Harbor, has closed for the season. Visit www.davidamurray.com to shop on-line, and for editorial, advertising, or corporate photo need