Can You Find the Animal?

Another one from this past spring, though this shot certainly wouldn't stand out in a crowd.  But that's exactly the point...can you see what's in this photo?  Hint: it's not a sasquatch.

Camo cat in Jasper National Park, Spring 2010

So did you spot it?  Crazily enough, I took this shot with a 70-200mm lens.  I was only about 20 feet from the lynx (just in case you did not spot it, the lynx is in the dead center, its head poking up by that light-coloured twig).

And did you spot the second lynx in the back right?  Now that's amazing camouflage!!

You may wonder why I've even kept images like this on file.  Well, there are two reasons behind it.  One, I love images that tell a story or inspire a story.  How exactly did I spot this?  Is there really a second lynx in the background?  And do you think you would have spotted this as you walked by it?  Doesn't it make you wonder just how many lynx or cougar or bobcat you've probably walked and driven by over the years, all well hidden, watching calmly from the shadows?

And the second reason I've kept this image?  Because somewhere, long in the distant future, I may be doing a book about animal camouflage.  Pretty good chance, actually.  And in that book I'll be trying to keep everyone honest by pointing out things that do exist (one lynx) and things that don't (I was kidding about that second lynx)!

So what is the story behind this image?  Half an hour before the shot was taken, I drove around a corner and spotted a lynx casually strolling across the road.  As I pulled up, it meandered off the road and into the bush, setting off a frenzied attempt by me pacing up and down the roadside and the edge of the bush with my big lens, hoping against hope to get another glimpse of the lynx.  After thirty minutes of lugging the big lens over my shoulder and my smaller 70-200 around my neck, I suddenly spotted the lynx watching me through the undergrowth.  I slowly lifted up my 70-200 and fired off this shot (along with a few others), before setting up the bigger lens and trying to find an angle to get a clearer shot.

That's it for today, hope you all have a great weekend!

John

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