The name is the bobcat based on the bobbed tail. "American bobcat" is commonly used. This is the
most common wild cat species of North America which with Mexico is its geographic
range. This wild cat is one of four of the Genus: lynx. The others are
Canada lynx, Eurasian lynx and Iberian lynx. The bobcat is a relative of the Canada lynx.
It is about the size of a cocker spaniel. Its fur is thick and soft,
which has made it desirable as a commercial product. The bobcat is
similar to the Canada lynx in appearance. The bobcat is adaptable and
is found, therefore, in a wide range of habitats including forests,
swamps, sagebush grassland, brushland and agricultural forest. The
bobcat shares habitat with the puma and coyote. Pumas occasionally kill
bobcats. The bobcat mainly feeds on hare and rabbit but also preys on
deer and beaver depending on the region.
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
ANIMALIA
CHORDATA
MAMMALIA
CARNIVORA
FELIDAE
Scientific Name: Lynx rufus (Schreber, 1777)
Other non-scientific names are: bay lynx, lynx cat, red lynx, chat sauvage.
Description
I have a page on the description of the bobcat.
This is a wildcat with a tanned coat and spots. Larger males weigh up
to 29 lbs (13.2 kg). Females can be quite small at 13 lbs, the weight
of a domestic cat.
Habitat - Ecology
There is a range map below. The American bobcat is found from southern
Canada to central Mexico and is most common in the western states of
the USA. It lives in a wide range of habitats: forests, mountains,
semi-deserts and subtropical swamps.
Bobcats live in dens that are in rocks, hollow trees and bushes etc.
The wide range of habitats leads to a similar range of prey items. The
American bobcat feeds on: rabbits (60-65%), rodents (20-25%), reptiles
and insects (2%). Prey includes: deer, beaver, prairie dogs, bats,
snakes, bettles, grasshoppers, porcupines, birds, domestic cats, dogs,
sheep, poultry, goats and fruit such as apples and pears.
Picture
of a Bobcat -
pictures of this great cat together with a
detailed description. These are some of the best pictures taken in the
wild as opposed to in captivity and a full description.
Bobcat
Geographic Range-
this is on a large, accurate, customised map that can be updated by
anyone with the
knowhow. It is based on the IUCN Red List map.
Bobcat
Sounds
- the full range discussed plus recordings and videos and including
scent marking and visual marking forms of communication.
Bobcat
Attack
- what the bobcat considers prey and three examples of attacks on
people that were directly or indirectly peoples' fault.
Wildcat - Domestic Cat
It
is
interesting to see the small wildcats that
are currently populating this world and make comparisons to our beloved
domestic cat. This is because our domestic cat is a wild cat that
domesticated himself some 9,500 years ago.
A comparison between current domestic and wild cats opens a window
through which we can get an indication as to how much we have changed
the wild cat through selective breeding and indeed how much the
domestic cat has naturally evolved without our intervention over the
past 9,500 years.
When I look at this picture of the American Bobcat I can see a domestic
cat in there - bobcats like catnip just like domestic cats. The difference is one of size mainly but there is a large
overlap in the size
of domestic cats and medium to small wild cats.
There is also
the
naturally more rugged appearance of the wild cat. The bobcat is
slightly more
"thick set", meaning heavy set and stocky looking and lacks the
cosseted refinement of the pampered domestic cat.
Two
bobcats in a tree by my house:
We live on top of a wilderness ridge in north central Alabama.
Last week just before sunrise I heard a commotion in the forest
adjacent to our home and saw two animals up in a tree that seemed to be
scuffling.
At first I thought they
were raccoons but the tails were too short. I grabbed a telescope
and saw a bobcat looking back at me.
The one higher in the
tree was trying to discourage the lower one from approaching it, and
the lower one finally gave up and left.
The remaining one stayed
for a while and I tried to get a photo of it but it was still too dark
and it eventually climbed down and left too.
At
the back of the right ear you see white marking. This is to frighten
foe when she turns the backs of the ears forward and flattens them in
an aggressive/defensive mode. The Serval
has very distinctive ear markings like these.
Domestic cats
look relatively delicate. Some,
of course, have been bred
to extremely delicate levels (perhaps extreme levels). This breeding-in
of elegance (away from
coarseness) and delicacy is amply demonstrated in the development of
the Modern
Siamese.
Other than the differences born out of living in the wild, their lives,
manners and eating habits are essentially the same as the domestic
cat. There is thought to be a tenuous connection between the American Bobcat
and the rare domestic cat the Pixie Bob, which you can read
about here. See a Bobcat
catching prey.
There are many more pages on this wesbsite that feature directly or
indirectly the bobcat, please try searching for them using
this
custom search form:
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What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
I Need Bobcat Scent and Sounds!
I live in a small town in central ca. We are being overrun and destroyed by an influx of herons, egrets and the like. All beautiful birds, of course, except ...
Florida Bobcat
The Florida bobcat ( Lynx rufus floridanus ) doesn’t exist. That is what the major authorities on the world’s wild cats say. I am referring to: Wild ...
Sources:
Wild Cats Of The World
(for some of the linked pages)
