Bobcat
Lynx rufus
- Habitat: Forests, coastal swamps, deserts and scrubland
- Range: Across North America (Canada, Mexico and the U.S.A)
- Natural Diet: Small mammals, birds, fish and insects.
- Status in the Wild: Common
All about the Bobcat
Bobcats are one of the largest species of small cats. They are light
to dark brown in color with a creamish-white underbelly. They have
black outlined, pointy ears, black marked faces, and their legs.
Their whisker spots are also black. The color of their fur helps
them to camouflage and blend into the background. Bobcats living in
colder climates have thicker fur coats that keep them warm in the
winter months. They are about 4 feet long and 2 feet tall. The
females are smaller in size and weigh between 12 and 15 pounds while
males can weigh up to 22 pounds. They have short stubby tails that
give them their name. They have excellent night vision that helps
them hunt at night. Their advanced sense of hearing helps them
locate their prey.
![](../../animal-pictures/Bobcat-Sonoran_Desert.JPG)
Bobcats inhabit diverse habitats
such as the Sonoran Desert (image above) and Yosemite National
Park (image below)
Diet/ Habitat/ Range
Bobcats are native to North America and range across southern
Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. They live in diverse
habitats across their distributional range. Like other felids are
obligate carnivores and feed on small birds, hares, rabbits,
rodents, small deer, fish, and a range of invertebrates.
![](../../animal-pictures/Bobcat-Yosemite_National_Park.jpg)
Behavior
Like other felids, bobcats live solitary lives pairing only during
the breeding seasons. Both males and females maintain territories
where they rest, hunt, and feed. They scent-mark the perimeters of
their territories with their urine. The territories of females are
smaller than males and the territories of several females are known
to be located within the territory of one male.
Like other wild cats,
Bobcats are either active around dawn and dusk (crepuscular) or only
active at night (nocturnal). They hunt when their prey is either
sleeping or resting. Bobcats are ambush predators and hunt their
prey by hiding, stalking, and then pouncing when the prey is close
enough for a successful hunt. They rarely vocalize and are only
heard yowling or hissing during the breeding season.
Reproduction
During the breeding season, both males and females breed with
several females and males respectively. Bobcat kittens are usually
born in spring with two to six kittens born after a gestation period
of 65 to 70 days. Females select a burrow, den, bush, or cave in
which they give birth to their young where they can protect their
young from predators. Several species such as coyotes, grey wolves,
and mountain lions hunt both bobcat adults and kittens. Kittens wean
when they are about 2 months old. While females sexually mature
within a year, males mature when they are about 1.5 years old.
Like other felids, only
female Bobcats care for their young. Young bobcats are known to live
with their mothers for almost a year before they disperse. Since a
large proportion of their behavioral repertoire is gained through
learning, during this time, mothers train their young to hunt,
defend their territory, and also have social skills.
Conservation/Status
Although Bobcats face threats of habitat encroachment through
livestock farming and ranching, logging and wood harvesting, human
urbanization, and hunting and trapping, the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have assessed their free-ranging
populations to be unaffected by these pressure and have categorized
them as Least Concern.
![](../../animal-pictures/Bobcat9.jpg)
The male bobcat housed at Micke Grove Zoo uses
recycled cardboard boxes as enrichment
![](../../animal-pictures/Bobcat10.jpg)
Enrichment is administered regularly to motivate
animal residents to display natural behavior
![](../../animal-pictures/Bobcat11.jpg)
Wooden platforms were attached that the bobcat climbs often
to sit on and survey his surroundings
![](../../animal-pictures/Bobcat12.jpg)
Bridges of firehose and wood are administered in animal
enclosures that are very popular with animal residents. The
bobcat has often been observed using his.
Distributional range
Bobcats are found throughout North America
Fun Facts
Bobcats have a muscular build with longer hind legs than
front legs, which helps them pounce on their prey that as
far as 10 feet away from them Their muscular build also
supports them to run up to 30 miles per hour when chasing
prey They are habitat generalists living and surviving in
diverse habitatsTheir name originated from their unique
feature of having bobbed tailsThey have an advanced sense of
sight, hearing, and the sense of smell They are excellent
tree climbers and are able to effortlessly climb trees They
are solitary by nature pairing briefly for breeding