So with a little time over the holidays my kids accompanied me on another journey. We put out 19 traps and all but a couple were geared primarily at raccoons. We caught raccoons, possums and skunks, although our totals were a bit disappointing based on past history in the same place during similar conditions.
But New Year's Day brought a big surprise when I went to check traps. My boys had friends spend the night and I couldn't haul all of them on my ATV. So my 19-year-old daughter, Ashley, who was home from her first year of college gladly accepted the invite. She's always game for keeping me company on many outdoor adventures and we headed out.
Midway through our check we found a skunk in one of our traps. We neared the end and I feared we wouldn't have anything else. However, when I rounded the corner of the creek to check the last trap I was surprised at what I didn't see.
The large tree branch that had my trap attached to it was gone. Drags like this are commonly used as anchors and I didn't look far and there was my trap...with my first bobcat in it!
Ashley was as excited as I was with our first cat. Although numerous and common (Kansas tagged more than 4,800 cats last season, the seventh highest total ever) these animals aren't routinely caught by most trappers. I was fortunate and lucky to get one and learned that only 22 cats had been caught in Harvey County last year. The 25 pound tom was a healthy looking specimen with beautiful fur.
Ashley called home and told her brothers of our success. They met us at the truck when we pulled into the driveway and wanted all the details. They had to check out the cat and kept saying they wished they had been along, too. I did, too, but it was nice to share the outdoor experience with my daughter as well.
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