The Fox and the Bobcat

I was lying on the swing on our deck this afternoon, enjoying the beautiful fall sunshine, when I heard a horrible screeching cry. At first I thought that maybe something was attacking a fawn in the woods. It kept crying over and over. The sound was coming from across the road. I ran to that side of the house and I could see two animals in the field. I got our binoculars and ran back. It was the oddest sight. There was a gray fox and a bobcat having a face off in the field. They were pretty near each other. The fox would walk toward the bobcat and screech at it. The bobcat seemed a little confused. It didn't attack. They kept this up for about ten minutes and then the bobcat walked off to the right into the woods, and the fox walked off to the left into the woods. I was wondering if the fox was trying to divert the bobcat from its young. Too bad I didn't have a camera with a telephoto lens. Sometimes it's like living on Animal Planet around here. (This photo is only a digital re-creation.)