Photographing the elusive, city-living bobcats of San Jose

When you’re walking around the streets of San Jose and hear loud growling or screeching, don’t worry. It’s probably just a female bobcat defending her territory from another cat, and they’re not at all interested in you.

Shravan Sundaram knows these sounds well. He’s an environmental scientist and wildlife photographer who’s been documenting the urban bobcats of the South Bay since 2020, including right in busy San Jose.

“They live in the heart of Santa Clara County, using natural riparian (river and creek) corridors to thrive adjacent to bustling Silicon Valley shopping malls, expressways and highways,” says Sundaram, who’s 26 and lives in Martinez.

While many locals are familiar with wild turkeys, errant deer and pigeon-devouring hawks – and perhaps even the thieving red foxes on the Los Lagos Golf Course – it’s unlikely passersby have observed these elusive bobcats. But the wild cats are certainly around in numbers, stalking prey, performing mating rituals and staking out precious territory with startling ferocity.

“I’ve seen them use structures such as drainage ditches, planter boxes, curbs and sidewalks as places to sleep, hunt and move their kittens,” Sundaram says. “An especially amazing instance of this was when one of the bobcats used a concrete drainage ditch to hide herself when stalking cottontail rabbits.”

Aside from dining on bunnies, the bobcats subsist on a diet of small mammals like voles, gophers and squirrels and birds like ducks, herons and young geese. Bobcats might even eat a lizard if they’re tempted – they’re generalists and not picky.

Documenting these overgrown kitties takes cunning and patience. Sundaram might see them on back-to-back days, then go three months without a sighting.

“And even if one does see them, sometimes they’ll just be slipping through the brush,” he says. “It really is about patience, positioning and persistence. They are more tolerant of human presence here versus more undisturbed areas, but nevertheless are incredibly elusive and well-camouflaged. I’ve found that learning their patterns, keeping a low profile to the ground and sitting or waiting for them to come to me is key to getting a window into their lives.”

Over the years, the photographer has gotten to know certain bobcat families and their personalities.

“The oldest (female) I believe has moved on or perished; she was very elusive,” he says. “Her kitten has since grown up and uses the same territory, and is a distinct orange color with an inquisitive personality. There is another cat here who tends to really favor the urban area the most, and is shy some days and very tolerant others.”

“The female cats seem to tolerate each other’s presence well,” he adds, “but like all wild cats, sometimes have territorial disputes between each other. This is usually resolved with some loud growling or screeching and posturing – wild cats only fight as a last resort, as injuries can compromise their ability to hunt.”

Sundaram won’t say exactly where the bobcats live, as he doesn’t want people to flood the area and potentially disturb them. Being an environmental scientist, he’s deeply invested in bobcat conservation – bobcats eating prey that’s been poisoned by rodenticide is one of his big grievances – and wishes only good things for these cats living in the big city.

“They are surprisingly resilient to urbanization, great at natural rodent control and sit at the top of the food web here — helping keep the ecosystem in balance,” he says. “I hope that people will appreciate the fact that wildlife exists everywhere, even in our homes, workplaces and urban spaces. I think understanding the value of wildlife in these urban spaces goes a long way to coexisting with them and conserving them.”

You can follow Shravan Sundaram and his wildlife photography, which extends well beyond just bobcats, at sswildlife.com or on Instagram at @sswildlife.