I recently had the fortune to capture this magnificent bobcat with my camera on a recent journey to the Navajo Nation.

The Navajo, in the past as today, believed that their creation was the result of a series of “emergences” from one world to the next. The Seventh World of the Navajo was described as the home of the Cat People, meaning the bobcat, the mountain lion, and the lynx. The Cat Peoples were anthropomorphic beings or deities who could talk and behave like people and who possessed supernatural powers. In time, many of these beings transformed into the animal forms we recognize today.

Bobcats are named "Náshdóíłbái" in the Navajo language and are respected and greatly honored by the Navajo People. Yet in seeming contraction, the Navajo Nation allowed Native residents an unlimited number of bobcat trapping permits last year at $5 each, while at same time only allowing 20 permits per year to outsiders at a cost of $250 each. Perhaps they are better stewards of their own resources than outsiders, but I take that with a grain of salt.