One of the most elusive creatures on the Outer Banks photographed atop utility pole
An Outer Banks man apparently accomplished the impossible when he photographed an animal so rarely seen that most people refuse to believe it exists on North Carolina’s barrier islands.
Brian Van Druten of Buxton not only photographed a bobcat — he found it in broad daylight as the cat was sitting atop a utility pole along NC 12.
The image was shared Wednesday on Facebook by Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and park officials told McClatchy News it was taken Jan. 5 on Bodie Island at around 7:30 a.m.
Van Druten told McClatchy News he was on his way to work when he saw his first-ever bobcat on the island. He guesses it weighed about 25 pounds.
“I noticed what I thought were tufts and immediately thought it was a Great Horned Owl. However as I got even with the pole, I realized it was not an owl and thought it was a bobcat!” he said.
“I continued down the highway to find a safe turnaround point. I had to confirm whether it was or wasn’t. Plus, I had my 7- and 11-year-old sons with me and wanted them to see it if it was indeed a bobcat. It was awesome to share a once-in-a-lifetime sighting like that with my sons.”
Van Druten says he has been asked repeatedly what the bobcat was doing in such an exposed spot, and he says he hasn’t a clue.
“It was very relaxed when I first spotted it, curled up on the very top of the pole,” he said.
It eventually began “shimmying backwards down the pole” then leaped to the ground, he said.
The sighting was 1.4 miles south of the Bodie Island Lighthouse Road, not far from the Oregon Inlet Campground.
Bobcats are known to prowl the shadows of the entirety of mainland North Carolina, but the barrier islands present countless challenges, including sparse fresh water, limited food and harsh weather such as frequent flooding.
Even getting to the islands is a challenge: The bobcats may sneak over on bridges, but coastal flooding is also known to snatch creatures off the mainland and wash them up on Outer Banks beaches
“Bobcats are so elusive that most locals don’t know they exist in the Outer Banks,” OuterBanksBlue.com reports.
“However, every so often one of these short-tailed felines decides to take a beach break and surprise everyone. Bobcats are about twice the size of a domestic cat and are most often seen at dawn or dusk.”
Bobcats are expert hunters, known to feed on rodents and venomous snakes, mostly in the dark, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission reports. They can weigh up to 40 pounds and stand 30 inches at the shoulder when fully grown, the state says.
Sightings of bobcats occur most often in North Carolina during their mating season, which takes place February through March, the state says.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 6:04 AM with the headline "One of the most elusive creatures on the Outer Banks photographed atop utility pole."