# @natgeo on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CR99mcrjyoy
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/11683731-natgeo-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/db21df2aeb.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-07-30T22:31:10.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** National Geographic (@NatGeo) — https://gondola.cc/NatGeo

## Caption

Photo by Karine Aigner kaigner / The bobcat chronicles: There's a special kind of magic that we have forgotten: the enchantment of wonder. That flash of excitement, the sheer curiosity, that juncture between losing all inhibition and committing to a moment. It’s something we sacrifice as we grow, as we experience, as we build a relationship with our environment—and it’s the same for bobcats.

Bob kittens have magic. As these tennis ball-size students of life tiptoe into bushes, everything is spectacular to them—every twitching blade of green, each flying grasshopper, the touch of the wind—they react to it all. Heads tilt upward and pause at the kiss of the breeze, ears flatten to the "predator alert" trill of the cactus wren, a paw lifts and shakes as it connects with twigs on the path. They creep further, one by one in fits and starts, until suddenly one is spooked, resulting in a tornado of flying fur. They stumble, pivot, and scatter—each halting to a comical stop, all in alert sentry position, looking around to see what hit them. Then, realizing it was nothing, they coo, chirp, and nuzzle together, and begin the adventure again.

At six weeks old, bobcat kittens begin to venture out alone into the world for minutes at a time. Their mother, alert and assertive, stays back, allowing them the independence they're going to need to survive. But in an instant she can spring from a sleeping position into action—to call them back, or fend off the undesired visit of a predator. For more stories about bobcats, follow me kaigner.  #bobcats #kittens #bobcatchronicles

## Stats

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## Tags

bobcats, bobcatchronicles, kittens

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