Cat Selfies Wild Cats Caught on Camera Traps

The Oxford University Press chose the word “selfies” as a 2013 Word of the Year!  I am sure not one of us has escaped being exposed to the  seemingly endless stream of  self portraits captured on mobile devices. While most folks try to pose showing off their best side, many of the selfies come out, well a bit out of focus, off center, and sometimes even only showing a part of the person’s face.   What CNN described as perhaps the most embarrassing phenomenon of the digital age,  has now been recognized  by  the guardian of the English language.

The good news is that the Oxford dictionary also declared “science” a 2013 Word of the Year.  The word science was chosen based on an increased number of people looking up the word over time.  Science is defined by “knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation.”  This is good news, isn’t it?  More people are showing an interest in science!

So just for fun, we thought we would combine the word “selfie” and “science” and  take a look at some wild cats caught on camera traps in their version of “wild cat selfies.”

I think if a cheetah were going to snap a selfie, it might look  like this image captured by a camera trap in Algeria.  Note the facial expression, certainly similar to many human selfies we have seen.  Thankfully, a cheetah might not know how or be able to make a duck face.

This image of a Caracal, courtesy of National Geographic, from a camera trap in Kenya is quite good, isn’t it? Maybe a little off center but in the spirit of a selfie, I think it captures just the right attitude of this gorgeous cat.  Stunning, really, with just enough of an angle to avoid the red-eye glare.

Now this tiger knows how to pose for the camera perhaps saying,  “Are you looking for me?”  Why yes we are, but carry on, we don’t want to infringe on your territory.  Take all the space you need. You deserve it being the largest of all cats. Next time perhaps, you could tilt your head a bit and turn your head slightly for a better face shot.  But that is just a friendly suggestion.  This camera trap image is courtesy of Mongabay.com.

This selfie of a Persian Leopard was caught on a camera trap in Afghanistan’s central highlands. The scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society were surprised to find this image as the Persian leopard was thought to have been extirpated from the region.  So, if you don’t want people to know your whereabouts, don’t snap a selfie and  upload it to facebook with a foursquare check in.

Filmed on a camera trap in Mongolia, one of three wild snow leopard cubs poses for the camera.  Gorgeous cats that are truly beautiful from any angle. This cub has mastered the head tilt.

So it looks like these African male lions might not be fans of the camera trap selfie. In this image you can see the lion on the left walking away with one of Panthera’s camera traps as the lion on the right makes a move towards a second camera trap.  Perhaps these lions would like to retain some privacy in the Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa.

Now this “selfie” of the Andean cat is quite exciting. This is the first camera trap photo of the Andean cat and was provided by the Andean Cat Alliance. This endangered small cat is very elusive. Prior to 1998, only two photographs provided evidence of this cat’s existence. Now camera traps are able to snap photos of this cat that lives in the mountains of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru.  This cat has a greyish coat with dark rings on the tail and dark stripes on the legs. Looking good Andean cat.

Another exciting “selfie” of an African golden cat. This image was snapped on a camera trap set by Panthera Kaplan scholar Laila Bahaa-el-din. Just recently, cameras set by Laila in Gabon captured the first video footage of a wild, living African golden cat.  We hope these beautiful cats  warm up to the camera so we can all learn a bit more about them.

Oh dear. Well, one of the unwritten rules of selfies, is to resist snapping selfies in poor taste. Even if you have no plan to share your moment of  lapse in judgement caught on camera, your image could fall into the wrong hands and be shared across the internet. Don’t take a selfie you would be ashamed to show anyone and well, everyone.  As for this Leopard cat caught on a camera trap by Joanna Ross, we can’t be sure whether there is regret or not.

The last two wild cat selfies are tied for the best in my opinion.  Not only did these cats take into consideration the background, but they posed at just the right angle, with a slight head tilt and attitude.  This snow leopard was captured on a Panthera camera trap in Mongolia.

And

This stunning image of a male cougar , tagged P22 was photographed on a ridge above Los Angeles by Steve Winter for National Geographic. I think the photo speaks for itself. Breathtakingly beautiful.

We hope you enjoyed these images of a few wild cats that share our world.  Thank you for being a part of The Tiniest Tiger community.

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