(playful music)
- There he is, there he is.
Look at him.
Wow! Look at that leap.
Look at how well he camouflages into the tree.
That's incredible.
(adventurous music)
A few weeks back I got an email from the
Arizona Game and Fish Department asking, "Would the
"Brave Wilderness team and the Coyote Pack
"be interested in helping promote a conservation
"project we have in the works?"
And our answer without question was, "Yes."
And as perfect timing would have it
we just so happened to be in Arizona
on the Brave Wilderness Live Tour.
So the morning before our show,
we couldn't resist the invitation
to swing by and meet their
star attraction, Hunter the bobcat.
- [Coyote] Mark,
we're on our way - Yes.
- [Coyote] to meet a bobcat, Are you ready?
- Is it tame?
- [Coyote] I think so.
- Okay, I could be up for that.
- [Coyote] You safe with that?
Mario are you ready to meet Hunter the bobcat?
- Is it a cat named Bob?
- [Coyote] Its a bobcat named Hunter.
- Oh, okay. Yeah.
- [Coyote] You like bobcats, right?
- I like bobcats.
- Now guys, we have worked with a bobcat once
before and it was incredibly difficult
because the bobcat was spring-loaded.
It was bouncing all over the place.
It was almost impossible to get it on camera.
So we're gonna give this another try
because Hunter needs our help.
In fact, he also needs your help.
Right now we're promoting a GoFundMe campaign
to help build Hunter a brand new sanctuary.
Are you guys ready to get up
close with this crazy cat?
- Let's do it.
- [Coyote] All right. Ready?
- Ready.
- [Coyote] Here we go.
(playful music)
- All right guys, we are on location
right now in Phoenix, Arizona.
At the Arizona Game and Fish Wildlife Center.
We're gonna head in here and meet Heather.
And then get up close with Hunter,
the bobcat we're gonna hang out with today.
(playful music) (footsteps crunching)
- High security for the bobcat.
Don't want hin to get out. - Morning.
- Good morning, how are you?
- You must be Heather.
- I am.
It's so nice to meet you. - Hi, I'm Coyote.
Nice to meet you. - Hi, Coyote.
- And you must be Teagan.
Nice to meet you, Teagan. - You too.
- Thank you guys so much
for having us here today.
- Thank you for coming.
- This is like maximum security.
(Heather laughs)
Is the bobcat an escape artist?
- Well, ya never know.
- Yeah, ya never know, right? - When working with wild
animals, right?
- All right, well let's bring Mark
and Mario in here.
Come on in guys. So this is it.
This is your wildlife center.
- [Heather] This is our wildlife center.
It was built in 1983, so about 35 years ago.
- [Coyote] Okay, so it's time for an upgrade?
- [Heather] It is definitely time for an upgrade.
- And that's what we're here for today.
To promote the GoFundMe campaign
you guys have going right now.
And our audience out there, which we call
the Coyote Pack, I'm telling you,
is gonna be super excited to tour this facility.
And then of course, we're looking to meet Hunter.
Would you say he's your star attraction?
- [Heather] He's pretty cool, he's pretty cool.
- We love bobcats, we've had the chance
to work with a bobcat in the past
and they're spring-loaded, right?
Jumping all over the place? - Yes.
- What is Hunter's demeanor typically like?
- [Heather] Well, Hunter's a really good boy.
And he's got an amazing trainers.
He works as our Education Animal Ambassador,
so he's used to meeting people
and he's used to coming out.
So he's actually pretty calm, but as you know,
all wild animals can be a little bit
unpredictable, so, ya never know.
- Well I'll let you lead the way, let's head
back this direction. - All right.
- And I think maybe the first thing that would be
cool is to check out Hunter's current enclosure.
- Okay.
- Because the big initiative here is to get him
a new enclosure built, correct?
- He needs a new home at our brand new
wildlife center, that we're currently building.
- Okay cool, well let's go check it out.
- All right.
(footsteps crunching) (playful music)
So here we are, and here it is.
- Hunter's enclosure! - Hunter's enclosure!
Come on inside.
- Wow, it's actually a lot cooler, temperature
wise, in here than I would've thought.
- Mario, not for you. Okay, you can come in.
(Heather laughs) - Let's go buddy.
- I'm just kidding, no, I'm just kidding.
I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding.
- No, no, wait. - Whoa! No, no, no, no!
(laughing)
Oh no. - Bye guys.
- Well, we're in here for a while now.
At least we have a pond. - We are now the bobcats.
Yeah, we do have a pond, that is amazing!
Here, let me come on this side.
Feel the temperature of this water.
As I was saying when we were walking in...
Wow, that feels amazing!
It is scorching outside right now.
It's only 9 o'clock in the morning, but it's
surprisingly cool inside of this enclosure.
Which is important for Hunter to be able to
stay in the shade, right? - Very important, yes.
Very, very important.
- Now can you drink this water?
- I wouldn't.
- [Mark] And by you,
I mean Coyote. - I am pretty thirsty.
Let me have a...
No, there might be bobcat pee in there, right?
- There probably is.
- I don't think I wanna drink that water,
but it's pretty cool that he
has a pond and a water fountain.
Now, in the design of this new enclosure,
will he also have a pond that he
can splash around in? - There will be a pond.
No waterfall.
- No waterfall. - But there will be
pond that we'll change out daily.
- Okay, and he's got some climbing,
sort of, tree structures here.
Kinda looks like it's for birds, but you know,
bobcats are so agile I could see how
this great exercise for him in here.
And as we get back here, obviously he has
this little den, but I think this den looks
like it's probably from the 80s.
And it's 2018, so also time for an upgrade.
- Kinda looks like a-- - Definitely time.
- [Mark] Desert igloo,
or something like that. - It does a little bit.
- We try and keep it rustic.
- [Mario] I think he needs a new crib.
- New crib?
- Yeah. - Hunter's crib.
Well yeah, I can certainly see how
this enclosure could advance.
And like I was saying, from 1983 to 2018
I think it is time for a structural upgrade.
- Me too.
- And I also think it's time to meet Hunter.
Are you guys ready for that?
- [Mark] Yeah, let's see this bobcat.
- [Coyote and Heather] All right, let's go.
- Meet Hunter.
(playful music)
- [Mark] Oh look, a ball.
- [Mario] Don't play with the ball.
- [Mark] Oh, Mario!
Hurry, hurry, hurry.
Oh no, no, no. - Sorry Mark.
- [Mario] All right dude
feeding time. - How ya gonna film,
without my camera?
- Feeding time is in two hours.
- [Coyote] All right,
let the bobcat out. - See ya later buddy.
- Nah, we need Mark.
(playful music)
- Guess I'm lucky I'm the camera guy today, you
would've left me in there. - All right buddy come on out.
Come on out.
- Is it safe?
- [Mario] Come on out buddy.
(playful music)
- Okay, so I guess they have Hunter
out up here by a tree.
We're gonna see what Hunter is capable of,
I'm sure jumping and being adorable
with that little bobtail.
Let's try to stay quiet, work around the edge
here, and let Hunter get acclimated to us.
(playful music)
- There he is, there he is.
Gonna approach in and see how close
I can get to Hunter.
(footsteps crunching)
Hi buddy. Wow!
Look at him, such a beautiful cat.
So soft, his coat is very fluffy right now
because technically it is winter here in Arizona.
Even though it doesn't feel like it.
He's got his winter coat grown in.
This little bobtail, it's so cute.
Look at how big those paws are.
So Hunter has been in training
as an Animal Ambassador his entire life.
And he's just over eight years old now
and he's completely conditioned to humans.
And actually, he's rather well-trained.
Can we show how Hunter jumps up into the tree?
- [Trainer] Sure. - Check this out,
watch this, how he can spring
up after a little meat treat here
In the tree. (claws scraping)
Wow, look at that leap!
That's incredible.
Look at how well he camouflages into the tree.
Hi, how are you?
As you see he's a little nervous.
He's not used to me.
Such big ears, look at those paws
perfect for climbing.
Such a beautiful cat. Ooh there ya go.
Did you see that?
He's got a little snack now.
I don't wanna back him too much up
into the tree there, let me give him some space.
(paws scraping) That's cool I can turn it...
Oh, there you go, you get
a good shot of his bobtail.
You see that, see how it twitches
up in the air like that?
It's white on the underside.
He's got the white spots on the back of his ears.
He's having a little meat snack right now.
How is that?
It's amazing how their faces look
just like a Maine Coon cat.
Ooh, now he's down here on the ground.
Let me see if I can get him to come over by me.
Hi Hunter, hi buddy, aren't you something?
Try and get a little bit closer here, Mark.
Go ahead and zoom in on his coat,
so you guys zoom in on the coat.
Look at the color and the camouflage.
You can see how it blends
right in to even the ground.
All this rugged terrain here in Arizona allows
these cats to stay completely camouflaged.
Look at that muscle in his legs.
Incredible spring-loaded power.
And how high can he leap?
- Easily six to eight feet.
- [Coyote] Six to eight feet, so he can
easily just whip right on top of this
tree with virtually no effort.
- [Mark] So Coyote, How can people
help Hunter with his new home?
- Actually, there is a GoFundMe campaign
that is running right now and if you guys
go to the about section of this video,
we'll place a link for it there.
We are personally gonna make a donation to this
fund and if everybody out there watching it,
also help get Hunter this new enclosure
that would be absolutely amazing.
He's a beautiful cat.
He absolutely deserves the best.
Well thank you guys so much for having us here today,
to the wildlife center. - So much.
- This was so cool getting to meet Hunter.
Guys, remember to click on the link
in the video description below.
Let's help Hunter out.
Get that new sanctuary built.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave.
Stay wild.
We'll see ya on the next location.
(playful music)
Getting to spend time with Hunter
allowed the crew and I to see
just how special this cat really was.
As the cornerstone star of the
Arizona Game and Fish Wildlife Center,
building a newly modified enclosure
for Hunter will ensure a healthy
and happy life for this incredible bobcat.
(playful music)
With more than 100 unique species
that currently call this rehabilitation
center home, every donation helps.
So make sure to visit Hunter's GoFundMe campaign,
where you can become a part
of this exciting conservation project.
If you thought Hunter was a cool cat, make sure
to go back and watch out first encounter
with one of these spring-loaded predators.
And don't forget, subscribe!
So you can join me and the crew
on our next location.
(wild animal calls)