Unlikely Friendships - Jennifer S. Holland [4]
{CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 2009}
The Bobcat Kitten and the Fawn
CALIFORNIA MULE DEER
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Artiodactyla
FAMILY: Chordata
GENUS: Odocoileus
SPECIES: Odocoileus californicus
BOBCAT
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Carnivora
FAMILY: Felidae
GENUS: Lynx
SPECIES: Lynxrufus
Fire no friend to wildlife. In any given year in California alone, there may be fifty or more big blazes a month that destroy hundreds of acres of habitat, displacing animals by the thousands. Many perish in the flames or after, from stress or dehydration.
But some lucky ones are rescued.
That’s what happened to a tiny fawn and a young bobcat during a major fire near Santa Barbara in 2009. It was May, when many animals give birth, so the California forests were filled with wobbly-legged newborns. Other fires had already destroyed vast tracts of wildland that year, so surviving animals were extra vulnerable. The May fire was devastating. When rehabilitators from the Santa Barbara Animal Rescue team picked up a particular young deer, it was weak and wandering in the area where the fire had started, crying and alone.
Because of the number of orphans being rescued, space at wildlife centers was scarce, so the sheriff’s department offered its facility as temporary housing.
“We had a tiny kitten, a bobcat, already in a crate there,” says Julia Di Sieno, director of the team. “We had rescued him on the governor’s property, and the animal needed round-the-clock care. We weren’t sure he’d survive.” When she brought in the fawn, she found that crates, like rehab space, were in short supply. There was no choice but to put the two young animals together. And that turned out to be just what they needed.
“As soon as we let the fawn in, the bobcat went right over to her, curled up, and went to sleep. They were both so exhausted and weak. They cuddled right up as one.” The animals were only together for a couple of hours while rescuers found room for the fawn a few hours away, “but it was such an important time,” she says. “It offered them both warmth and comfort, and maybe alleviated their fear and loneliness. It was such a lovely bond.”
The rescue group, which on this occasion saved wildlife and domestic animals of all sorts, rehabilitates everything from ducks to foxes and, eventually, releases them into areas where habitat remains intact. After its much-needed rest with its bobcat friend, the fawn was relocated and placed with other fawns so it would grow up with its own kind. Months later, when the fawn was a year old, the deer herd was set free.
“It’s funny because a fawn would normally be a nice little morsel of food for a bobcat—an adult bobcat, that is,” says Di Sieno. Indeed, the cat, still in captivity for the time being, has since become a stealthy and successful hunter. But under the stress of the fire, the two natural foes found strength in each other. “I’m sure it boosted their morale to be together at that critical time,” Di Sieno says.
{LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 2005}
The Bobtailed Dog and the Bobtailed Cat
DOG
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Carnivora
FAMILY: Canidae
GENUS: Canis
SPECIES: Canis lupus familiaris
According to the Humane Society of the united States, 6 to 8 million stray dogs and cats end up in animal shelters each year. Of these, approximately half are euthanized.
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, Louisiana, in August 2005, thousands of pet owners were forced to rush to high ground without their animals. Most left food and water to tide their pets over, expecting to collect them within a day or two. But few were able to return home, and at least 250,000 domestic animals were suddenly on their own.
Scores of pets died. Many hit the streets, relying on their most basic instincts to survive. Some joined packs for protection. These two