Coyote chases bobcat up huge tree in California — then the feline fights back. See it
A hiker was out in the California mountains when he witnessed the wild version of a dog chasing a cat up a tree — as these were no ordinary house pets, video shows.
The canine was a coyote and the feline was a bobcat, and the fierce cat wasn’t backing down without a fight, Bryce Pierce’s video shows.
Pierce posted video of the sighting to YouTube on Monday, Sept. 30.
It shows the spotted bobcat perched high in a tree canopy and peering down toward a coyote as it climbs up the trunk behind the cat. As the coyote inches closer, the bobcat turns to face it, and for a few tense seconds they stare at each other until the bobcat lurches toward the coyote and growls.
The coyote growls back and the creatures keep up the fight until one of Pierce’s dogs whines off camera. The coyote’s head whips around at the sound and it appears to lock eyes with either Pierce, the dogs or the camera.
The coyote hesitates, glances back toward the bobcat and then starts back down the tree as Pierce’s dogs start barking and whining. It pauses again and observes the dogs before appearing to decide against pursuing the bobcat and instead inching back down the tree, a second video shows.
“I think the presence of my dogs and I may have discouraged them to continue, but at least the bobcat may live to see another day,” Pierce told NBC7 San Diego.
Pierce, who is a zoologist with the county’s agricultural department, captured the moment early Saturday, Sept. 28, while hiking the eastern side of Cowles Mountain in Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego, the station reported.
“It was like a National Geographic moment for me like something out of an African safari or something,” he told the station. “I just wish I had brought my good camera that time.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2024 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Coyote chases bobcat up huge tree in California — then the feline fights back. See it."
