As a photographer I am always looking to capture images of memorable moments, spaces and living beings. Last weekend three of us set out to scour Mount Diablo Park for wildflowers. I love this park - it has so many special things about it - beautiful rolling hills with spectacular views of the bay, some unique wildflowers like the Mt Diablo Globe Tulip, a variety of dragonflies, butterflies, etc. I thought I had seen many facets of this park over numerous visits, but was in for a surprise.
As we drove into the park from the north side we were looking for a trail to hike on and photograph wildflowers. From my window, in a ravine and on a path along the hillside, I saw what looked like a very unusual animal carrying something. We stopped and on closer examination saw that it was actually carrying a prey, a jackrabbit. He was striding along with complete confidence, very comfortable in his own habitat. By the time I took my camera out of the bag, he had gone down the slope and disappeared in the trees near the stream below. Much to our surprise we saw another one just like him follow him, but he too was too quick for me to capture an image of him. It was a double treat though!
After doing some research I concluded that we were lucky enough to get a very rare sighting of a pair of mountain lions. We wonder if it was a pair taking care of a set of cubs and probably will never know. On talking to the park ranger we were told that it is very rare to see a mountain lion in the daytime(it was 11.36 am) so this was truly serendipitous. Especially so, knowing that their habitat is being destroyed and their population decreasing. It is great that we are doing a lot at Mount Diablo Park to preserve their habitat. Watching these animals roam free, made me wonder if I would ever be comfortable seeing them in captivity in a zoo.
And next time I go to a park, I'll remember to have my camera ready well before I reach it for that chance encounter with a special animal. Wildflowers give one enough time to get the camera ready, but unexpected mountain lions don't!
As we drove into the park from the north side we were looking for a trail to hike on and photograph wildflowers. From my window, in a ravine and on a path along the hillside, I saw what looked like a very unusual animal carrying something. We stopped and on closer examination saw that it was actually carrying a prey, a jackrabbit. He was striding along with complete confidence, very comfortable in his own habitat. By the time I took my camera out of the bag, he had gone down the slope and disappeared in the trees near the stream below. Much to our surprise we saw another one just like him follow him, but he too was too quick for me to capture an image of him. It was a double treat though!
After doing some research I concluded that we were lucky enough to get a very rare sighting of a pair of mountain lions. We wonder if it was a pair taking care of a set of cubs and probably will never know. On talking to the park ranger we were told that it is very rare to see a mountain lion in the daytime(it was 11.36 am) so this was truly serendipitous. Especially so, knowing that their habitat is being destroyed and their population decreasing. It is great that we are doing a lot at Mount Diablo Park to preserve their habitat. Watching these animals roam free, made me wonder if I would ever be comfortable seeing them in captivity in a zoo.
And next time I go to a park, I'll remember to have my camera ready well before I reach it for that chance encounter with a special animal. Wildflowers give one enough time to get the camera ready, but unexpected mountain lions don't!
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