©Stacy Ratel
December 9, 2025
Ghost of the Roadside
- as seen by -
Stacy Ratel
@back_yard_birdie I’ve spent countless hours in the field photographing wildlife, but nothing prepared me for the encounter that unfolded on a quiet Pennsylvania back road. My partner and I were driving through the cool, dew-drenched stillness of the morning when a shape appeared at the edge of the pavement — large, muscular, unmistakably feline – a bobcat (Lynx rufus) right there on the road with us. She moved slowly, calmly, pacing along the broken asphalt, her coat glistening with the last traces of morning dew.
In a single motion, we rose through the open sunroof — two photographers crammed together in absolute silence, bodies locked in position, cameras steady. In hindsight, we must have looked like two sardines squeezed into a tiny aluminum can, but in the moment, there was no humor, no laughter — only deep, unmoving concentration.
When a wild cat appears, every second counts.
Her slow, deliberate steps seemed to unfurl in extended frames, each one imprinting itself into memory.
The entire encounter was brief.
The bobcat — serene, powerful, utterly indifferent to us — continued along the roadside and then slipped quietly into the brush. She vanished as quickly as she’d appeared, leaving us with pounding heartbeats, and that surreal realization that real time and remembered time are not the same.
As we finally climbed back into the car, our hearts still racing, I whispered the only words that made sense:
“Is this really happening?”
It did.
And it remains one of the most unforgettable wildlife encounters of my life — a fleeting moment with a roadside ghost.
Bobcats live quietly among us, often unseen, relying on healthy forests, clean corridors, and safe passageways. By safeguarding these natural spaces, we honor the wildlife that shares our world, even when we’re not looking.
Canon R5 with 100-500 lens and 1.4 extender
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