It was in her blood. One of her first words was “Leo,” the name of her stuffed lion. And from an early age, Laurel Serieys knew that her passion rested within researching wild cats and learning the impact of urban society on their survival.
A graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA, Serieys’ determination led her to create “Urban Carnivores,” a photo exhibition that features images of a bobcat family from the Santa Barbara area. Open until Sept. 16 at the G2 Gallery in Venice, the exhibition depicts heartwarming and gorgeous photos of the mother and her kittens playing.
Serieys is currently researching a possible correlation between the weakened immune system of some bobcats in the Santa Monica Mountains and chronic exposure to rat poison found in residential backyards. Such a strained immune system may allow a disease known as mange to overtake the infected animal’s body and kill it.
“I was astounded that people had no idea what wildlife they had in their backyard. … Some would say to me, “˜I’ve lived here for 20 years and have never seen (one),'” Serieys said. “It’s a moral duty to distribute the information we are learning (about the bobcats).”
The idea for the photo exhibit took root when Barry Rowan, a graduate student in biology at UC Santa Barbara, showed one of Serieys’ research partners a video of a bobcat playing with a king snake. For the past six years, Rowan had photographed three generations of a bobcat family living in the state parks near his home in the Santa Barbara area.
“I would see (the bobcat) a couple of times a year,” Rowan said. “And then, later on, she had kittens. … Watching them grow up and learning to hunt was fascinating … and then the kittens had kittens.”
Rowan’s images capture the majestic small cats ““ the gorgeous details of the dark spots on their fur, their vivid personalities. In one picture, the mother stands proud on the center of a trail, majestically staring straight into the camera, unafraid. In another, she is frozen in mid-leap, soaring above the grass with paws outstretched as if she were a kitten.
Excited to have Rowan’s photographs, Serieys said she began thinking of a way to use them to educate and raise money for her research. She stumbled upon the G2 Gallery, a venue intended to display multiple art forms to celebrate the beauty of the natural world and alert the public of current environmental issues.
“I was really impressed with their dedication. … They have a great mission and a creative way to do it,” Serieys said. “But what I really loved were the (bobcat) footprints leading up the stairs (to the gallery).”
As Serieys was toying with the idea of entering the photos into the gallery, she received a phone call. It was Serieys’ friend, who informed her that Susan Gottlieb, the co-founder of the G2 Gallery, had a bobcat carcass in her backyard. Gottlieb was insisting that someone collect it because it looked like the bobcat had died of mange.
Serieys arrived at the house prepared to pick up the carcass and to share her new collection of art.
“Laurel showed me some of (Rowan’s) photos and I knew I had to show them,” Gottlieb said. “They are really beautiful.”
With the photos of the bobcat family on display, Serieys said she hopes that the frozen moments will inspire action on the part of the public.
“If people see pictures of (the bobcats) … living right in their backyard, they might think twice about using rat poison,” Serieys said. “The gallery is a great opportunity to foster a connection between the people and (the bobcats).”