Bobcat

Bobcat at Hole-in-the -Wall

Photo/Sierra Willoughby

General Description

Bobcats also known as red lynx (Lynx rufus) got their names from their short tails. Bobcats are distributed throughout North America from Canada into Mexico. In the United States it is estimated that the population is about one million bobcats. Bobcats are more common in the southeastern United States due to denser populations. This wild cat is much larger than a house cat but smaller than a Canada lynx, which they overlap ranges with in some locations. They can weigh any where between 9 to 33 pounds and be two feet to 41 inches in length.

Bobcat fur can be light brownish to yellow to ochreous in color, with brown to dark brown or black stripes and spots. The tip of the bobcat’s tail and the back of their ears are black. Bobcats have tufts of hair on their ears, and on the sides of their head.

 

Bobcat tracks

Courtesy NPS

Diet and Behavior

Bobcats are carnivores. They eat small animals such as mice, ground squirrels, minks, rabbits, hares, squirrels, pine martens, muskrats, skunks, raccoons, insects, birds, snakes, frogs, voles, shrews etc. Bobcats have also been known to take down small ungulates such as young deer, elk and pronghorn. Bobcats also prey upon domestic livestock such as sheep. Bobcats also scavenge. They will feed upon carcases of animals killed by other predators. Bobcat kittens are sometimes preyed upon by adult bobcats when food is scarce. Kittens are also preyed upon by owls and eagles, also by foxes and coyotes. As adults bobcats are fairly safe from being preyed upon, except for the occasional gray wolf and cougar.

Bobcats are mostly nocturnal. They are most active a few hours before sunset until a few hours after sunrise. They do not hibernate and are active year round. Bobcats have fairly large home ranges and mark their territory with their urine, feces and claw marks on trees. When bobcats are on the prowl they trek two to seven miles a night. Bobcats like forest, swamps and high desert.They make their homes in dens under logs, brush piles, rock ledges/caves and in thickets. Bobcats are solitary creatures except for mating season. During mating season, bobcats will howl just like domestic cats to attract mates.

 

Ecology

Bobcats are important predators which keep mammal populations under control. Bobcats are near the top of the food chain. They exert a "top down control" of the ecosystem. In ecosystems that have a short supply of predators,other animals tax the food supply and over populate. This means that nutritious food becomes scarce and the consumer population of animals becomes less healthy and more susceptible to disease and starvation. Predators like the bobcat keep this consumer population under control, thus creating a balance in nature.

 

Conservation

Bobcats are listed as a species of least concern. They are not on the federal endangered or threatened species list, however some states like New Jersey list them as a state endangered species.

 

Where to Find

Bobcats can be found in forest, swamps and high desert. In the desert they can be found near water sources.