Ursus americanus - Tahoe Black Bear 3 by RickC
Continuing our journey through the Kansas mammals, today I bring you Ursidae (bears) and Felidae (felines, or cats). The black bear doesn’t live in Kansas any more. While it just looks wrong to see a black bear in the street, I’m thinking there is still some habitat he could move back into.
Ursus arctos - Grizzly Bear by Just chaos
And the grizzly bear no longer lives in Kansas either. Will he ever come back? I love the sparkle of the water in this photo. Isn’t the bear majestic?
Puma concolor - Cougar Ready to Pounce by Harlequeen
Interestingly, the cougar, mountain lion, or puma is supposedly absent from Kansas. However I’ve spoken with several people who told me they’ve seen one. Charles Lee at K-State is monitoring cougar sightings.
Lynx rufus - Bobcat by SearchNetMedia
Now this guy, the bobcat, is known to still live in Kansas. Not that I’ve ever seen one in the wild, though I’d like to. Interestingly the bobcat’s only natural predator is the mountain lion!
Are these animals you have in your state? Have you seen any of them in the wild?
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I just saw this exact bobcat near Ottawa,KS just off 59 Highway and Stafford road. Crossed the road in front of me and then turned at looked at me as it walked up a driveway. Had the brown body, bobbed tail with a dark tip and dark tips on it’s pointy ears. Then it also had stripes on the inside of its legs. Was the size of a coyote. I have lived in this area most of my life, this was the first time I’ve seen one.
Trish, I’ve never seen one myself, but I’ve been told that there are bobcats near Pomona, KS so perhaps their range has recently expanded. Were you excited to see one? Surprised?