A recent picture sent by a close friend of mine in Shelburne, and who wishes to remain anonymous, not only got my wheels turning, but also brought to me a moment of appreciation for the many pictures I receive from people throughout the region — simply in the sense of sharing what they see though a lens or an iPhone, sometimes in their own backyards! So thanks to my anonymous friend, and to the many others who have taken the time to reach out during these many years of sharing time together “On the Ridge.”

In this particular picture, a bobcat had been hanging around my friend’s property most of the summer to the point where they started devising a way to get pictures of the critter on their trial cameras. And after a little strategic organizing, it didn’t take long for their plan to produce pictures of this “Forest Ghost” materializing right before their eyes.

But right from the start, there was something different about these pictures. That prompted my friends to send a photo or two to me, asking “have you ever seen anything like this before?” and “why is this bobcat’s coat so red? RED?”

That’s right folks, it was red! And from where I sat, those pictures clearly showed that this bobcat was as red as any red fox I’d ever seen, and you can bet that I was more than a little mesmerized by what I was seeing. Without delay, I reached out to my friends at MassWildlife for their opinions and thoughts, and I began receiving correspondence before the end of that very day

First, I received a call from Sue McCarthy, a respected wildlife biologists who I’ve known for years, and who explained to me that “in New England, bobcats have a summer coat that is more often than not reddish-brown in color, which helps them handle the warmer weather and allows them better camouflage in the denser foliage in the summer. However, this reddish-brown coat offers quite a contrast from their winter coats, which are usually much grayer, and at times even pale in color, providing better camouflage against the snow.”

She went on to say that “this summer coat is also much shorter and thinner than the winter coat.” All of which made perfect sense to this ridge-runner who has seen numerous bobcats in his lifetime, especially while bow-hunting for deer in Massachusetts, as they have a tendency to just materialize out of nowhere. But I’ve never seen red one, not even close!

Later on that same day I heard from Andrew Madden, the Western District Supervisor for the Mass. Division of Fish & Wildlife, who saw the pictures I sent to his assistant, and was impressed by the coloration. “We know that bobcat color can vary, especially in the summer months, but I’ve never seen one that red before!”

Andrew went on to say that he would share these pictures with furbearer biologist Dave Wattles, who I hope to chat with about this the next time our paths cross. And I want to thank both Sue and Andrew for taking time out of their busy schedules to get back to me.

But of course, I couldn’t just let the narrative end there, as I needed to know more about this new marvel that’s very common to some, but very uncommon to me. I did some more research on this and sure enough, I found that seasonal changes in a bobcat’s coat (fur), just like Sue and Andrew told me, occur every year to optimize camouflage in the summer. And as their spots and stripes begin to form again, it breaks up their outline even more, making them much harder to spot as the summer goes on. I also found that, while the general pattern of a bobcats coat is consistent, individual bobcats can often have variations in their coats fur and color, especially in the winter months, which at times could lend a sense of individuality to certain animals whose coats may appear a little different than what one might assume. And I found all of that so fascinating!

All that said, I’ve never once knowingly hunted a bobcat in my life, even when I was young and would make a day of it in the woods chasing gray rabbits and snowshoe hare with my hounds. If we happened upon a bobcat, I would call the dogs back and just let it go, because there was always, and still is, something special about bobcats. The occasionally sighting of one, getting educated about them and learning new things like how their coats have the ability to often turn red in the summer, just lends to the mystery and the natural beauty of these creatures. Their stealth and solitary ways keep them masterfully in tune with their environment. Perhaps that’s partially why this wild feline captivates me so; never announcing itself, just suddenly emerging from a distant fog, or appearing in a summer’s mist, with the quiet authority of something so untamed that makes its presence here so welcomed by me. And I will never do anything to assist with its demise, because I believe that their quiet nature, and their ability to be very unassuming should make them very good neighbors in this ever-expanding wild New England of ours!

​​​​​​Joe Judd is a lifelong hunter and sportsman. He is an outdoor writer, seminar speaker, member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association, and a 2019 inductee into the N.E. Turkey Hunting Hall of Fame. Joe is also on the Quaker Boy Game Calls and Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Pro-Staff. He can be reached at jjontheridge@comcast.net