Wednesday, September 7, 2011

A chance to photograph a Ring-tailed cat

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a wildlife photographer. Most of them like to lend me a hand when they have a chance. Such a friend is Bob Olsen.

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Bob lives in Toquerville, right next to Ash Creek. He has live traps out all the time in order to control the skunks and squirrels. A few days ago I got a call from Bob announcing that he had captured a ring-tailed cat and wanted to know if I wished to photograph it. Of course, I jumped at the chance.

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In the thirty plus years that I have been a wildlife photographer, I have only had a ring-tail in hand twice. They are actually fairly common in the southwest but are strictly nocturnal so they are seldom seen by humans. The wide eyes, whisker-covered face and long tail are all adaptations that allow this raccoon cousin to function in the dark.

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I ended up photographing the little guy in the fading light of evening. He was surprisingly calm and cooperative. My son Alex shot video while I was shooting stills. When we were finished, we just walked away and let our subject go free. I hope you like the images.

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3 comments:

  1. Each bracelet has a total of seven 10mm sparkling disco balls with two 8mm and two 10mm shiny hematite beads, beautiful and eye-catching.

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  2. I am a park ranger at Bryce Canyon National Park. I would like to show your amazing photo of the ringtail in an article I am writing for the Bryce Canyon website. A beautiful picture! I would be happy to discuss conditions for showcasing your image and will credit your artwork in my presentation.You are welcome to contact me at kate.e.pitts@gmail.com or kaitlin_pitts@nps.gov.

    Thank you,

    Kate E. Pitts

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  3. Hi Lynn,
    I work for the National Wildlife Federation. Would it be possible to use your images of the the ringtail in our wildlife advocacy work? If so, please email me at andersonl@nwf.org

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