Emily Cleary, Stony Brook School
Somerset County
Bobcat. Somerset County. Emily Cleary
Vanishing From New Jersey
It's May and a breeze settles throughout the wilderness. I, a young bobcat, travel north to my mountainous den. Cautiously, I amble slowly and silently, listening. The piercing whistle of an approaching hunter fills my ears. Instinctively, I race up a pine tree, hoping my silky fur blends with the tree I clutch tightly. "Snap, Snap!" Twigs snap as the human walks away from my hiding spot. Relief sweeps over me, but a question pulls at my tail from every escape. How will my species survive if we are killed by cars or hunted until extinction?
Smooth fur smothered with black spots cover our slim bodies. The gaze of our golden brown eyes glisten in the sunlight. Powerful and skillful we are, as we pounce on our prey with such beauty. The small bobbed tail is our abnormal and unique feature that makes us different from our cousins the tiger, lion and leopard. Will the future ever see our natural beauty?
We used to roam the forest in hundreds to thousands but we rarely ever see our own kind now. Brutal hunters slaughter us thoughtlessly as if we are a game in the woods. We slip into the shadows, not knowing if today will be our last. As the big cat of the food chain in New Jersey, it would be disturbed dramatically. Help us!!
You, the people, have the power to save us! You can preserve the forests we inhabit so it will increase our survival and help us repopulate. Also, you can place signs near busy roads to notify drivers we are here. Lastly, you can confront the government about making a law that prohibits the hunting of bobcats. YOU can make the difference. Please save us!!
Without your help, extinction is our next stop! Our lives are in jeopardy. Make the right decision. If not, generations to come will never see our beauty. We can't survive without your support to save our magnificent species. Save us, before it's too late!!!!!
Written by: Emily Cleary
Stony Brook School, Branchburg
Teacher: Mrs. Burke