The bobcat has also been known as the bay lynx, catamount, short-tailed wildcat, and just plain wildcat. It got its most common name from its short tail, which appears to have been bobbed.
Bobcats are found throughout the United States. Swift and well-camouflaged, bobcats have the ability to vanish quickly into their surroundings. They are very good at adapting to their surroundings and searching out resting places, dens, and secluded areas.
Several factors contributed to their decline. Bobcats have been hunted and trapped for their pelts and killed by farmers because they sometimes prey on farm animals. The loss of timberland has also greatly reduced its living area.
North America’s smallest native member of the cat family, the bobcat is somewhat larger than the domestic house cat.
The male adult ranges from 25 to 42 inches in length and stands 20 to 24 inches tall. They weigh
15-35 pounds and can live 30 years. The stubby tail is only about 8 inches long.
The color of the fur is quite variable, and is somewhat dependent on the area in which the bobcat lives, its diet, and its age. Coloration ranges from grayish to reddish-brown, mottled with small spots and blotches of a darker shade. The tail is tipped with black on the top surface. Ears are usually dark, with a white patch at the tip.
Food and Diet
A bobcat’s diet consists of rodents, rabbits, and other animals. The animal will also prey on birds and, occasionally, on the young of a larger mammal, such as the white-tailed deer.
Bobcats are superbly equipped for nocturnal hunting. They have keen binocular vision, and their pupils expand to take in all available light, resulting in excellent night vision.
The feet are large and well padded, and its sharp claws are retractable, allowing a bobcat to approach prey very quietly. The mottled coloring serves as excellent camouflage.
The hunting bobcat will usually stalk its prey until it’s only a few feet away, and then strike with a quick, short pounce or dash. The kill is made very quickly, with one bite from its long canine teeth.
The male bobcat defends a large territory of up to 40 square miles. The female defends a considerably smaller area, within a male’s territory. Usually, two or three females live in a single male’s territory, and he mates with all of them.
The mating season is during the winter, typically January or February. The gestation period is about 60 days and the litter ranges from one to four kittens.
Kittens are born with a complete coat of fur, but their eyes remain closed until they’re nine or ten days old. The mother nurses them until they’re seven or eight weeks old, but they stay with her until early autumn.
A young bobcat has to learn its hunting skills. The mother first brings live prey to the den so that the kittens can learn to make a kill, and then she takes them hunting with her.
Although bobcats become sexually mature at about one year of age, the male doesn’t usually begin mating until he’s two.
In captivity, bobcats usually live more than 30 years, but the typical life span in the wild is uncertain.
The Buttonwood Park Zoo’s bobcats are found near its relative, the cougar, in the area labeled “Some Predators”.