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The bobcat is a species of cat in the lynx genus. It is a stocky animal about two or three times the size of a house cat or a cocker spaniel. Its short, black-tipped "bobbed" tail identifies the bobcat.
Bobcats are easily recognizable by their unique physical features. They have a prominent ruff of facial hair and slightly tufted, black-tipped ears. In Latin, rufus is 'red,' and in New England, they tend to be reddish-brown. In other regions of the country, their dense fur varies from yellowish to grayish. All have distinct or faint black spots and bars, patterns that render them almost invisible in our woodlands. Their hind legs, which are longer than the front legs, give the bobcat more power when jumping and a bobbing gait.
Adult bobcats weigh 15–35 pounds and measure 28–47 inches. Male bobcats are approximately 33% larger than females.
Bobcats are polygamous as they do not form lasting bonds. A male's home range overlaps that of several females, with individual males traveling up to four miles daily. Both males and females use scent marking to mark their territories and dens to minimize confrontations with other bobcats.
Females create dens lined with moss, leaves, and other soft vegetation they scrape in. Dens are found in rock crevices, under rocky ledges, in caves, brush piles, hollow trees, stumps, or logs. Females may use the same den sites for several years in a row.
Bobcats breed in early spring, February through March. Their young are born after a 62-day gestation period in April or May. The females produce one litter each year consisting of 1–4 kittens, with an average litter size of 2. The female is the exclusive provider. At birth, the female drives the male away. Bobcat babies are born with sealed-closed eyes that are blue when they open after 9 to 10 days. Over the next two months, their eyes gradually turn yellow.
At one month of age, the young bobcats begin eating solid food. Their mother typically keeps them in the den until they are 12 weeks old, and then they travel with her as she hunts for three to five months before separating from her for the winter mating season.
The backs of a bobcat's ears have two white spots, which helps kittens follow their mom in dim light. The white underside of the bobcat's bobbed tail is also important. Should kittens fall too far behind their mother, the mother stops and will softly call to them, raising her tail to reveal the white patch below.
Bobcats live an average of twelve years.
Bobcats are skilled and efficient hunters, preying on a variety of animals such as rabbits, groundhogs, mice, squirrels, skunks, opossums, chipmunks, moles, shrews, muskrats, birds, and snakes. They patiently stalk their prey until they are close enough to pounce. They can also run down prey over short distances. While bobcats have a good sense of smell, they rely primarily on their keen eyesight and hearing to detect prey and danger. They often travel up to seven miles in the evening while hunting and patrolling their territory.
Bobcats are shy, solitary, and generally elusive. They are active day or night, but tend to exhibit crepuscular (dawn and dusk) activity. Their activity peaks three hours before sunset until midnight and again between one hour before and four hours after sunrise. They remain active year-round as they do not hibernate. Like our domestic felines, bobcats are proficient climbers. They will climb trees to rest, chase prey, or escape from predators (chiefly domestic dogs). They avoid water whenever possible, but they can swim quite well when forced to flee to water.
Interestingly, the bobcat's solitary nature means that populations are less susceptible to communicable diseases like rabies than social animals like the raccoon.
Bobcats are found throughout the country. They are true habitat generalists, capable of thriving in various environments–from swamps to forests, desert to 'urban edge'–as long as there is sufficient cover to stalk their prey and raise their young.
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