Reader Ben Haubrich was X-C skiing recently in Francestown, New Hampshire, off trail, when he came across this odd mound in the snow. A closer look revealed . . . we’ll tell you, but you have to guess what it is first.
Answer
A bobcat-cached turkey.
Haubrich noticed bobcat tracks using his previously packed ski-trail. He then came upon a landing mark in the snow where a turkey had flown down and trotted along an open area next to the trail. A few hundred yards later the animals’ tracks intersected, and things didn’t end pleasantly for the turkey. The cache site was very near the kill site.
While Haubrich never saw the bobcat, there’s a chance that if he had, he may have noticed the cat wearing a radio collar. To learn more about this ongoing New Hampshire bobcat study, read the feature story in our Spring issue. A digital copy is available here.
This week’s contest winner was Susan Fly of Bolton, MA.