At Santa Margarita Ranch—home of Margarita Adventures—“sustainability” isn’t just a buzzword, but rather a very real commitment that makes a difference in our land and its inhabitants.
Among the many sustainability initiatives at the ranch are those that nurture local wildlife. These include setbacks for wetland preservation and “leaky fences” that allow for interconnected habitats. This explains how the proud bobcat pictured here recently ended up taking in the view near our Pinot Express zipline earlier this month.
Bobcats tend to be solitary creatures (they are, after all, cats!), and among their prey are small rodents. And if you’ve ever been out here, you know that we have no shortage of ground squirrels.
Bobcats (Lynx rufus) join black bears, bald eagles, mountain lions, turkeys, turtles, hawks and many other magnificent creatures that call this land home. The ranch is also bracketed by the coastal Santa Lucia Mountains, where a rich ecosystem provides ample shelter, water and sustenance for an abundance of wildlife.
“Bobcats are mid-level predators,” says Karl Wittstrom, proprietor of Margarita Adventures. “Their population ebbs and flows with the population of their food sources. It is wonderful to see the whole food chain from top to bottom here on the Santa Margarita Ranch and the neighboring Santa Lucia wilderness within Los Padres National Forest.”
Simply put, when you come out to the ranch, you never know what you might see!
By offering a unique, low-impact adventure on a working cattle ranch and vineyard, our hope is demonstrate how agriculture, tourism and sustainability can work hand in hand.
And by joining us for a tour, you help us advance sustainability initiatives that make our ranch a comfortable place for adventurers and bobcats alike!
