ThE BoBCaT
Lynx rufus
BobCaT
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage around 1.8 million years ago. The bobcat is a adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semi desert, urban edge, forest edges, and swampland environments
Food that it eats
Bobcats eat a variety of animal species, including mice, rats, squirrels, chickens, small fawns, wild birds, feral cats, cottontail and rabbits.
BobCat facts
Average life span in the wild:10 to 12 years
Size:Head and body, 26 to 41 in (66 to 104 cm); tail, 4 to 7 in (10 to 18 cm)
Did you know?
The bobcat is the most abundant wildcat in the U.S. and has the greatest range of all native North American cats.
Bobcat Distribution and Habitat
The Bobcat is the most widely distributed of all North American felines and is found across North America from southern parts of Canada right down to southern Mexico. They are incredibly versatile animals that have adapted to living in a variety of different habitats throughout the three different countries. Although Bobcats are known to prefer rocky hillsides that are well-vegetated, they are found in numerous different habitats throughout their natural range including mountain woodlands, coniferous forest, swampland, deserts and even in suburban areas in some places.
Bobcat Behavior and Lifestyle
The Bobcat is solitary and nocturnal animal that is most active in the darkness of night, tending to hunt most during dawn and dusk. During the day, Bobcats sleep and rest in dens in the form of a rock crevice or hollow tree with one individual having a number of dens within it's home range. Bobcats are highly territorial and mark their ranges with scents from their urine and faeces and distinctive claw marks on trees to alert others of their presence. Males patrol a large home range which often overlaps a number of smaller female territories but the two will not interact until the breeding season which begins in the winter. At other times of the year though, Bobcats tend to avoid one another to reduce the chances of them being injured in a fight.