Bobcat-The MHS Mascot

(Jack Farr) - I received this email from Phil Pattie. Phil lives in Mesa, Arizona. Thanks to Phill for sharing this amazing story and great pictures with us.  

Hi Jack,

These pictures were taken of our High School team mascot, in an area about 15 miles east of where we live and close to AJ Ream's winter retreat. We have some bobcats in our yard from time to time. Fun to see.

Might be worth a add on to the class website for a time.

Regards, Phil Pattie

 s|----- Original Message -----

Bobcat perches Atop Saguaro Cactus.

Gold Canyon, Ariz - The images are incredible. A bobcat that has scampered to the top of a Saguaro Cactus -- and it was quite a climb!

The photos were captured in Bold Canyon, on the foot of the Superstition Mountains.

The bobcat was trying to get away from a mountain lion  that was stalking it, explains the photographer Curt Fonger. He darted up a 40 foot Saguaro, and there he stayed for the remainder of the day.

Curt Fonger and his wife Marta are living out their golden years on wilderness' edge  in Gold Canyon. With over 40 years of photography experience, Curt recently had a career-defining moment.

"I've never had the luxury of seeing a bobcat on top of a saguaro," he says. "Just a beautiful creature, he was displaying himself proudly, kind of looking around, probably trying to see if mister mountain lion was still around... it was almost as if he was posing!"

Curt says the golden cat with amber eyes stared back at him, perched on top of the cactus for hours. "He was pretty relaxed, he kind of laid on top of the saguaro, shut his eyes, almost as if he was sleeping."

The bobcat eventually came down, but Curt and Marta are still riding high. "it was that Kodak moment I think every photographer lives for."

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