Summer 2023

Catwalks of Carmel Up Close and Per sonal wi th Monterey Bay Bobcats T E XT AND PHOTOGRA PHY B Y I VAN J . E B E R L E C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 3 165 M eet Ellie MacPfurzen, supermom and supermodel! Born and bred a Carmel native, she blends in so well, folks often fast-walk right past her without noticing she’s there. On one hand, she’s a photo phenom who’s unusually accessible and ever willing to strike a pose. On the other, she’s a devoted, atten- tive mother who’s raised half a dozen kiddos that have already left the nest. This summer, she’ll be busily tending another round of kittens. Where in the world does she find time and energy to do it all? Palo Corona Regional Park is where.The eastern half of a storied golf course built in the Carmel River floodplain, now rewilded, the former links at Rancho Cañada comprises the most critical habitat unit of the park. The most obvious evidence of Rancho Cañada’s earlier existence here are the hard-surfaced, circuitous and interconnected, all-weather cart paths now repurposed as dogwalks by day, catwalks by night and gopher-tunneling impediments 24/7. And, as any greenskeeper will tell you, a golf course is the natural habitat of gophers.This superabundance of gophers persists up to the present, and is the tastiest reason why such a prolific bobcat nursery is found here, years later. In fact, these riparian meadows are home to a burgeoning bobcat population, arguably more approachable than anywhere else in North America. Realize now, I've been photographing carnivores all over the Western U.S. since the mid 1980s, having chosen to settle in Monterey County due to an especially high density of bobcats and mountain lions. Each of our native wildcats proved quite the early challenge, nev- ertheless. It took nine months of diligent, patient effort to call in and photograph my first Big Sur bobcat. Mine was a 19-year pursuit in the Ventana Wilderness before obtaining any wild mountain lion images.