We were surprised and delighted to realize this adorable bobcat was carved by Vince Chavez. Vince is best known for his buffalo carvings which he carves almost exclusively -- until now! We love the lines of this alert bobcat carved from chocolate serpentine. His pointy ears and cheek patches are so cute and his posture very "bob-like". Vince has inlaid the eyes of turquoise and signed the bottom.

We're really glad to see Vince branching out and creating new animals!

BOBCAT: In a hunting directional set, the bobcat is the elder brother of the wolf and represents the southern direction, replacing the badger of the healing directional set. He is most often associated with the color red. He is carved of many materials but probably most often from Picasso marble. He can be depicted in an extremely realistic style (like the Cheamas render) or a very symbolic style (like Dan Poncho). Characteristically he's thought to be a clever hunter as he doesn't have the size or power of the mountain lion. There are stories about he and coyote playing tricks on each other. The prankster coyote smushed the bobcat's nose and tail in while he was sleeping. And when the bobcat woke up and realized what happened he sought revenge by pulling the nose of the sleeping coyote making it long and pointy and yanked the tail so long that it nearly drags the ground.