I was stunned as I watched a young, wild bobcat casually stroll along a stretch of beach on North Captiva Island. The scene was so surreal, I couldn’t take my eyes off this beautiful beast. My heart skipped a few beats so I fumbled with my camera. Click, click. Yes! I felt so fortunate to  have captured her in two photos.
My good friend Diane and I took her boat out for an island hopping adventure with her trusty dog Callie this weekend. Within 10 minutes of anchoring off North Captiva, Diane saw this gorgeous cat and held well behaved Callie tightly on her leash. We have never had any bobcats attacks so we weren’t afraid she would turn on us but then again, a bobcat is a wild animal. We didn’t want to disturb her in any way to make her feel threatened or nervous so we stayed out of her way so she could go on her merry way to find a nice rat appetizer before her raccoon tartar lunch.
Still in awe over our sighting, we hopped on over to Cayo Costa to see what the south tip had in store for us. Live CLOUDY PERIWINKLES!
I mean llllllots of PERIWINKLES.
Here’s cutie Diane (check out our Cayo Costa Camping adventure last year) and her sweet dog Callie….
So we (including Callie) had to phoon with Di’s boat.
We may not have found a boat load of shells but we sure had a “wild”, adventurous girls day on the calm gulf waters. Thanks Di!!
PS- You can only get to North Captiva and Cayo Costa by boat. I thought I’d add a map to show you where these islands are in relation to Sanibel. North Cap is marked by the purple circle in the top left corner and Cayo Costa is one island north of North Cap.
Wow! I will have to keep on the lookout for it when we go next week!
jealous! breathlessly so.
Great photo of the bobcat on North Cap. I have not seen a bobcat on North Cap in over 10 years. There was a bobcat on the north end of Cayo last thanksgiving. I see tracks and scat at the south end of the island, but I am yet to get a photo. You truely, never cease to amaze me, Great photo!
That’s a big cat! Bet your heart did skip a beat. Cutie picture of the 4 of you…
My favorite post yet of yours! LOVE the bobcat. I have to say though, Callie was looking at you all like “you expect me to phoon what”??
Truly amazing Pam,never seen a photo like this. My favorite photo is the 2nd one,it’s just breathtaking :)
The dog in the phooning photo is looking at ya’ll like your all nuts, lol.
My friend Jane of Artfully Graced has a bobcat in her backyard. I’m going over there for dinner on Thursday and I don’t think I’m going to be asking to eat outside on the patio. I want to eat dinner, not be dinner!
Raccoon tartar, you’re too funny Pam!
Seriously Pam, you should talk to Mutual Omaha and see if the are looking to replace the old geezer on Wild Kingdom. Sea pork, hatching baby octopi, & now a bobcat. Move over Jack Hannah – Pams in the house…woot woot!
Very informative-did not know about those two places. What a big cat-and OMG my husband saw one yesterday about a mile from our home. It was injured. He called the game warden out.
Wow! That is so cool, Pam! ~ Maria
Stunning pictures and you guys phooning the boat—that’s funny!
Very cool! We were exploring the park @ Lover’s Key last week and saw strange scat. My husband said maybe a large cat……. I did’t think so. Maybe he was right! Great post!
Awesome post as always Pam!!!
I had no idea there were bobcats in the area! How cool!
Tres’ Cool! Take a walk on the wild side! Thanks Pam!
how awesome Pam!
P.s. Just noticed cal lie in the pylon photo… She looks like one of the girls! So cute!
Oops! Callie in the phoon photo! Sorry- auto spell check!
Amazing as always! Wonder how the cat got on the island in the first place?? Hope there are enough rats and racoons to keep it well fed ;-) Wouldn’t want it going after the locals or any visitors (Pam & Company).
awesome!
We go to North Captiva and Cayo Costa every year with friends. We rent a boat and go for the day. Noticed the periwinkles about two years ago. It’s the only place I’ve ever seen them. We’ll keep our eyes peeled next year for the bobcat. How exciting!
Wonderful pictures of the bobcat and periwinkles…wow!
Yikes! I’m not sure what I would do if I saw him on the beach. I love the periwinkles – I have never seen those before! Now I know where to look.
You gals and guy are too cute. Love that there’s a bobcat out there. Ya know what they say “where there’s one there’s more” so maybe we’ll see little bobkitties.
looks like a florida panther
aw what a neat animal! i love cats and i especially love cayo costa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think you are in heaven! I can’t imagine seeing a wild animal so free and unafraid.
You are a really lucky person! Marvelous pictures from seashell paradise! Beautiful nature, wild and bright !!! Thank you for your great shots !
I hope there Are more so there will be more :) Great pic!
Wow, nice spotting! I live just off island and miss seeing all the wildlife we used to before all the development around here. We had bobcats, wild turkeys and wild boar too! Someone even spotted a panther! Cayo Costa is truly my favorite place in SW Florida. I can’t wait to try and find the periwinkles you spotted!
WOW… great timing to see the bobcat..what an adventurous life u enjoy…and lucky for us…we get to enjoy it through your amazing blog.
GREAT bobcat pic!! Congrats on capturing it; I’m sure if would have been in awe and unable to work the camera.
Great pictures of the Bobcat….wish I was there to see it in person!!
Bobcat – so cool. Always heard about it on North Captiva, never have seen it myself. Thanks for sharing as usual. Keep up the good work with your posts
LOVE the phooning picture! I’m so mad that we didn’t think to have Capt. Brian do it with us when we were there. Next year for sure. I also like that the dog is phooning!!!!
Those are by far the most beautiful pictures of a North Captiva bobcat I have ever seen! I have a home bordering the preserve and see this particular cat several times per year. She is very cool, calm and collected and shows no fear ( and little interest) even when you are very close to her. I once saw her streak in front of my golf cart to catch a mourning dove in the next lot… it had seen her coming and had taken flight, but she jumped very high into the air to catch it in mid air. It was like a scene from National Geographic.
This is my favorite post of yours Pam! My sister, Della, and I have been to Florida 3 times together now (twice in Sanibel). One of our running jokes has been that I am determined to see a bobcat. I gave up hope once I was told they are nocturnal. Then low and behold you see one in broad daylight! Now I have renewed hope! A bonus on this post is Captain Brian! (Love the picture with him!) We’ve been on his shelling cruise twice now. He is so nice and joined us on the beach the last time and shared some shelling tips with us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this blog! It means so much to those of us who can’t be on the beach every day!
Wow – I can’t believe it – I was there with my art partner Mary Ellen (hubbies couldn’t go with us) – mid December 2011 – and we saw a bobcat cross the road right where Ding Darling property is, before you get to the main gate! It was good sized – we were both in shock! I live in Ocoee, TN next to the Cherokee National Forest, and I’ve never seen one here – although we see bears and red fox etc often. Wow – can’t believe we were so blessed! Hoping to move to Sanibel soon….
Call me simple, but I truly believe that my favorite shells are the Periwinkles! They’re so colorful, and I love the shape.
We just saw a bobcat walking down Wiles on Captiva. Rather surprised.
Wow! I’m surprised too! Did you get a picture?
We were in Sanibel on 3/21/13 a Bobcat crossed Rabbit Road in front of us! Thought we were seeing things. Glad you got that beautiful photo.
We were on bikes, no action shots!
I saw a bobcat yesterday evening on Sanibel on the bike path just down from Bailey’s Market. My husband and I were driving by and I had to take a double-take. It was just sitting there looking like it was trying to decide whether to cross the road or not. My hubby did’nt see it and thought I was crazy! So glad for your site! See Gerald-I’m not CRAZY!!!!!
Driving from Captiva to Sanibel (just north of the Captiva bridge), my wife and I saw a large cat (cropped tail and the size of a large dog, but definitely a cat) run across the road about 9:30 at night. We checked the Internet to see what it could be and it sounds like we saw the bobcat others have posted about here!
We rented a place on Captiva the first weeks of January and saw a Bobcat a
couple of times walking around the yard. Very exiting! Hoping it’s still around next year.