iN PHOTOS: Shuswap photographer gets bucket list encounter with bobcat

A wildlife photographer from Chase had a photoshoot with a bobcat in the forest in the Shuswap last week and was able to observe the wild creature as it sun bathed and rolled in the snow. 

Ann Steenhuysen was driving the backroads on a blue sky, frosty winter day on Feb. 7 when she saw the cat that was feasting on a deer carcass. 

“When the bobcat heard my vehicle, it ran up a bank but slowly came down again as it was obviously protecting its meal, which I believe was roadkill,” she said. “The cat didn’t seem to be afraid of me.”

Steenhuysen took closeup photographs of the cat using a zoom lens, it’s tawny coloured fur and ear tufts standing out against the snow.

“I didn’t stay very long, I didn’t want to disturb his lunch,” she said, but returned briefly the following day where she found presumably the same cat for a couple more photographs.

A bobcat was spotted off a backcountry road in the Shuswap in Feb. 2025. iNFOnews.ca/ Ann Steenhuysen

Bobcats are the most common wild cats in North America but are not easy to see as they are elusive and avoid humans. They live in forests, swamps and residential areas in the southern half of the province.

Weighing between 11 and 30 pounds, the cats are fast runners that are skilled at climbing and leaping, which helps them catch prey that includes rabbits, reptiles and birds, according to crittercarewildlife.org.

The cats are solitary except during mating season. Each cat has several dens in hollows and caves in their territory which they pee on to keep intruders away.

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A bobcat in the Shuswap is seen on a sunny winter day. iNFOnews.ca / Ann Steenhuysen

The cats get their name from their short, bobbed tails.

“These were bucket list encounters for me and I feel privileged to photograph this beautiful animal,” Steenhuysen said.

If you have awesome wildlife photos you want to share, send them to news@infonews.ca.

The distinct bobbed tail of a bobcat can be seen in this photo taken in the Shuswap. iNFOnews.ca/ Ann Steenhuysen

This bobcat in the Shuswap appears to be enjoying the sunshine. iNFOnews.ca/ Ann Steenhuysen

A bobcat rests on the snow in the Shuswap. iNFOnews.ca/ Ann Steenhuysen