The Bobcat Of Wisconsin
Wisconsin DNR
description
The bobcat has two color changes per year. The fur of the bobcat is striped, blotchy, and dense tawny gray for the winter and reddish brown for the summer. The baby bobcat has spotted fur that disappears when they get older.
Diet
The bobcat is a carnivore and eats a wide variety of small mammals like woodchucks, rabbits, skunks, raccoons, moles and squirrels. It also eats birds and reptiles. One of the most common prey of the bobcat is the cotton-tail rabbit. Occasionally the bobcat will kill larger prey like deer.
HABITAT
- Bobcats live in forested habitat, normally in northern Wisconsin where snowshoe hares are found. They eat a diversity of prey. If snowshoe hare numbers are down, they will focus on other small mammals including rabbits, squirrels, opossums and birds
- humans are able to kill an adult bobcat.
Population
together with reduced reproduction in the late 2000s, reduced
the population to about 2,200 bobcats.
Reproduction
Reproduction
Mating season Late winter, but throughout the year is possible.
Gestation 50- 70 days. Kittens are usually born around early spring.
Litter size 1 – 6 kittens.
The kittens begin eating solid food at around two months and begin learning to hunt at 5 months. When they are between 8 and 11 months, the kittens are evicted from their mother's territory.
Lifespan
Bobcats typically live to six or eight years of age, with a few reaching beyond ten. The longest they have been known to live is 16 years in the wild and 32 years in captivity.
Interesting Facts
- Fact 1 - Bobcats get their name from their tail, which appears to be cut or 'bobbed'
- Fact 2 - Their fur color ranges from yellowish tan to a gray brown
- Fact 3 - Bobcats are born blind
- Fact 4 - The bobcat is agile and climb well, they are also good swimmers
- Fact 5 - The bobcat is a nocturnal animal
- Fact 6 - The bobcat uses its urine and claw marks to mark its territory
- Fact 7 - Bobcat stats and facts
- Fact 8 - The bobcat is about double the size of a domestic Cat