Photo of the Week: Wary Wild Cat

Young bobcat in a willow tree

Professional photographer Scott T. Smith came across this young bobcat in a willow tree in Cache Valley, Utah. It had been chased up the tree by dogs. "It stayed in the willow tree until nightfall, and then disappeared," the Utah resident writes. Bobcat populations in many Eastern and Midwestern states were severely depleted due to hunting in the early 1900s. Laws to protect them have succeeded in increasing their populations. They are now the most abundant wild cats in the United States, though their numbers in parts of the East and Midwest are still recovering. Smith used a Canon EOS-1D Mark II and a 500mm lens.

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