This bobcat amazingly climbed a cactus the height of a 4-story building to escape a predator and sat there for 6 hours before leaping down!
Determined to stay alive, a bobcat being chased by a mountain lion climbed the equivalent of more than four stories up a giant cactus with 2-inch thorns.
The rare Giant Saguaro Cactus, found in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, was 45 feet tall and likely 300 years old.
The now-famous photos were captured by a local nature photographer who was called by a friend who’d witnessed the chase. Watch video here.
“A friend called me at 7am saying one of his workers had seen a bobcat being chased by a mountain lion,” said nature photographer Curt Fonger.
“It ran across the road in front of his car and climbed up a large saguaro cactus with the lion hot on its tail.”
“It looked up at the bobcat, growled several times, then turned around,” deciding it wasn’t even going to try to attempt the feat the bobcat had pulled off.
Fonger guessed the bobcat had been after the mountain lion’s cubs, and the chase was her way of warning him not to come back.
Employees of Smiling Dog Landscapes kept their eye on the cat for over 6 hours before he finally decided the coast was clear and leapt off, landing on all four feet without injury.
Fonger inspected the cactus and found no blood or hair, only claw marks.
Bob cats apparently have tough paws making them less sensitive to the cactus’ prickly needles.