A nocturnal member of the cat family native to North America (Felis rufus); resembles a small lynx; length up to 1 m/3¼ ft; brown with dark spots; tail very short; inhabits scrubland and forest; eats birds, rodents, rabbits, and (in winter) deer.
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A Bobcat sitting on some hay |
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Least concern (LC) |
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Lynx rufus Schreber, 1777 |
The Bobcat (Lynx rufus, or commonly felis rufus) is a wild cat native to North America. The bobcat is an adaptable animal that inhabits wooded areas as well as semi-desert, urban, and swampland environments.
In appearance, the bobcat has characteristic black bars on its forelegs and tail. The bobcat is twice as large as a house cat but typically smaller than the related Canada lynx. The adult male, averaging 36 inches (90 cm) in length, and weighing from 16 to 30 pounds (7 to 14 kg), is generally 30-40% larger than the female.
Bobcats are carnivorous animals which will hunt anything from insects and small rodents to large deer, but often show a preference for rabbits and hares. What they hunt will depend on location and habitat, season, and scarcity of prey. The bobcat breeds from winter into the spring and has a gestation period of about two months.
Taxonomy
There has been some debate over whether to classify this species as lynx rufus or felis rufus. The bobcat is believed to be evolved from a Eurasian lynx which crossed into North America by way of the Bering land bridge during the Pleistocene. This population evolved into modern bobcats around 20,000 years ago.
Subspecies
The main subspecies, found in much of the eastern United States is the nominate: L.
Physical characteristics
In appearance the bobcat is quite similar to the Canada Lynx but is usually significantly smaller.
A few melanistic bobcats have been sighted and captured in Florida.
Adult male bobcats are 28 to 47 inches (70–120 cm) long, averaging 36 inches (90 cm), and height to their shoulders is about 14 or 15 inches (36–38 cm). They weigh about twice that of a house cat, with adult males usually ranging from 16 to 30 pounds (7–14 kg) while the females, which are smaller, average about 20 pounds (9 kg). Bobcats can and will swim when they need to, but will normally avoid water.
Tracks
Bobcat tracks show four toes and no claw marks. Like all cats, bobcats directly register, meaning their hind prints usually fall exactly on top of their fore prints (this is not the case in the photograph in this section). Bobcat tracks can generally be distinguished from feral or house cat tracks by their size (feral cat tracks being about 1.5 inches square (3.8 cm square) and also by the indentation at the top of the bobcat's foot pad (feral cat tracks generally show a single, rounded hump at the top of the foot pad).
Behavior
Bobcats are generally most active during twilight and are therefore considered crepuscular.
Hunting
As a predator, the bobcat is able to go for long periods without food, but will eat heavily when prey is abundant. The bobcat hunts by stalking or ambushing their prey and then pouncing or giving chase for short distances. When these prey exist together, as in New England, they make up the primary sustenance of the bobcat. The bobcat is an opportunistic predator that, unlike its Canadian cousin the Lynx, can readily replace its primary prey with a variety of options.
The bobcat hunts animals of three different sizes, and will adjust its hunting techniques accordingly. On small animals they will hunt in areas known to be abundant in prey, and will lie, crouch, or stand still in wait for an animal to wander close. They have been known to kill deer as well, especially in winter when smaller prey is scarce, or when deer populations become more abundant.
Additionally, bobcats are agile, good climbers and well-suited to gaining access to domestic farming operations such as chicken roosts.
Breeding
The male and female bobcats will begin breeding by their second summer, but the female may sometimes start as early as their first year. A dominant male will travel with a female and mate with her several times, generally from winter until early spring. They will be hunting by themselves by their first fall but remain with the mother until nearly a year old.
Survival
The bobcat has no major predators other than man. The coyote has been known to be a direct predator of the bobcat, but has an unknown effect on their populations. Cougars and wolves may also occasionally kill bobcats when they get the chance. Kittens however may be hunted by several predators, including owls, foxes, and even male bobcats. The young are most likely to die shortly after leaving their mothers while still perfecting their hunting technique. Of fifteen bobcats tracked, the yearly survival rate averaged 0.624, with females having the same rate as males. Many bobcats will live to six or eight years of age, with a few reaching beyond ten. Bobcats may also harbor large parasites, mostly ticks and fleas, and will often carry the parasites of its prey, especially rabbits and squirrels. One mite in particualar (lynxacarus morlani) has to date only been found on the bobcat. It's still unclear how large of a role parasites and diseases play in the mortality of bobcats, but they seem to account for greater mortality than starvation, accidents, and predation.
The bobcat has long been hunted and trapped by humans. They are listed in the CITES treaty which allows them to be hunted so long as doing so is not detrimental to their population. However bobcats have maintained a high population, even in the south where they are extensively hunted. Kittens are most vulnerable to hunting, albeit indirectly, due to their dependence on an adult female for the first few months of its life. They are nevertheless still hunted, with half the mortality of some populations being attributed to this cause. As a result, the rate of bobcats dying in winter when hunting season is generally open is skewed. Additionally the bobcat does not tolerate deep snow, and will hole-up and wait out heavy snow storms.
Distribution
The original range of the bobcat was from southern Canada to throughout the eastern United States, and down as far south as Oaxaca, Mexico. The bobcat still occurs in much of this range, from Maine to Florida and westward to Mississippi. In this territory the bobcat will have numerous places of shelter, usually a main den and several auxiliary shelters on the outer extent of their range such as hollow logs, brush piles, thickets, or under a rock ledge. In summer the range of a male can reach roughly 16 square miles (41 km), while the range of the female is less than half that. In winter bobcat territories may expand up to 40 square miles (100 km), or perhaps slightly less depending on the location. One study noted that a dense, unharvested population in California had a sex ratio of 2.1 males per female.
The bobcat is an adaptable animal, able to survive in numerous environments. They are nevertheless well-suited to human caused changes in the environment, unlike the lynx, and some researchers believe there are more bobcats today in the United States than in colonial times.
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