20th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
The Nonchalant Stray Cat

This stray cat comes into my yard every single day to catch the harmless chirping birds that busily eat the seeds from a tree also in the yard. He strategically sets himself up on the wall where the tree rests, and lie in wait for the birds to unwittingly come by. On this morning, I was very near where he was, and he saw me looking at him. Instead of running from fear of being chased, he looked at me unconcerned and unperturbed. Here, he's finally done with his bird-chasing chores for the morning. So I went to get my camera to try to get photographs of him, and when I returned, surprisingly, he was still nonchalantly strolling around in the yard. I was able to get some good photos of him. When he realized I was photographing him, he seemed to be coolly posing for, and allowing me to take the shots. In this particular photo, he is near the wall where the tree is, seemingly pretending he is looking off into the distance as I keep taking the photos. He's one cool and calm cat!

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 11.2022
Date Uploaded: 11.2022
Photo Location: San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago
Camera: Canon EOS REBEL T5
Copyright: © Tricia-Maria Hovell