Alligator and Bobcat at Little Piney…Or Are They?

Bobcats for Sure

Now that we have been at Little Piney for 2 1/2 years, we know we share the land with bobcats.  We have had daylight encounters with the spotted cats as they cross our property into the woods. Our game camera captured a bobcat tossing its prey into the air and leaping up to catch it.   See this post for an amazing video .

Wild Visitors

We have new evidence of two Little Piney visitors that we haven’t seen before, a cat, large bobcat or small cougar, and a lake creature, an alligator or an alligator gar.   I’m no wildlife expert so  I’ll post the photos and welcome your input if you can identify them.  Why is it such a mystery?  Blurry photos.  The feline visited the shore of our little lake just in the left edge of the game camera on two occasions in the dark.  The long bumpy lake creature I saw with my own eyes. I photographed him three times, but he was on the far side of the lake and mostly submerged.

Big Bobcat or Little Cougar?

I love all the creatures at Little Piney but I get especially excited by the thought of a big cat.  I’m a cat lover to begin with, and there’s a thrill in spotting something so elusive even on camera.  Also, I keep seeing tracks at Little Piney that look like big cats to me.   More experienced eyes say “domestic dog.”   But if that’s the case, who’s walking around Little Piney with a big dog?  Not us. Hmm.

So here are the photos of the big kitty cat dated March 29th and April 7th.  There appears to be a long tail but it could be a back leg in motion.  Large bobcat or small cougar?

You can get a size comparison by looking at the cat and a young deer in the same spot at different times.

Alligator or Alligator Gar?

I saw the gator or gar yesterday at 10:30 am.  I could see a snout just above water and a round area submerged with just a round gray oval above water.  It was about five or six feet in length.

The creature was floating, went under, and resurfaced about 10 feet away.  As I walked closer for a picture it submerged again.  I walked up and down the bank but saw only Blue Winged Teals swimming slowly.  I wondered how safe they were!

Then there is this strange picture on the game camera.  Glowing eyes in the lake?

Alligators have been sited in Del Valle and in Tahitian Village in Bastrop in the recent past, but I’ve only heard of gar in our lake.  Cougars have been spotted in nearby Camp Swift, but I only know for sure that there are big bobcats at Little  Piney.  Whatever they are I love having these creatures on our land.

What do you think these mystery creatures are?

Updates:

Here are some helpful responses from my fish and game savvy friends and family:

“The picture of the cat is a large bobcat and the one in the creek is most likely a gar, need to be able to see the head for sure though. The lights in the creek were probably someone fishing at night, animals eyes would be colored.”  Carl M

“Tail and eyes like gar from that angle. If gator you will see signs on bank where he gets in and out…like a slide…prob some claw marks..big gar if it is..clear water for gator that size.” Jim F.

” I would say gar, Aunt Tammy. A big ONE!!” Lenzie B.

“I agree with Jim….no droop to the tail, no indication of legs….If I saw this I would keep fishing….however I would not rule out Nessie either.”  Doug A.

“I know for sure the bobcat, but the other one has me really curious!  I wonder if it might be an American alligator or a released Caiman?  Have you gotten any more photos of it?  It could be a handful of different animals, but I’m hoping it is an alligator!”  Robert T.

Well, Robert…To tell the truth, I  too was hoping that it was an alligator at first; now I’m happy to think that it’s a big old gar which won’t be visiting the shore at Little Piney.  I saw it again last week in the early evening.  It saw me and went under before I could see any new details.  I’ll keep watching.

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