Bobcat (2024)

The bobcat'sfur is buff to brown, sometimes with a reddish tinge, andmarked with spots or stripes of brown and black. The fur on its undersides islighter in color. Bobcats have facial ruffs, ear tufts, white spots near the tips of their ears and bobbed tails.

Bobcats are often confused with the other three "lynx" species, the Canadian lynx, Iberian lynx and Eurasian lynx.Each lynx hascharacteristic facial ruffs and ear tufts, and a shorter tailthan other cats. Bobcats are slightly smaller than other lynx and live in warmer climates at lower latitudes. The other lynx species occupy cold, northern latitudes where snow lies deep for much of the year and temperatures can reach lows of -70 degreesFahrenheit(-57 degrees Celsius). Their footpads are well protected with a dense covering of fur, while the bobcat's footpads are bare. They also have shorter tails and longer legs for traveling through deep snow,where the bobcat is at a disadvantage.

The bobcat's black-spotted, brown coat blends in well with therocks, brush and other dense vegetation where it hunts its main prey: the cottontail rabbit. Other lynx species have plain, brown-gray coats thatprovide camouflage in the mossyconiferous forests and swamps where theystalk their primary prey:the snowshoe hare. The densecover where these lynxlive may make sound more important than sight while hunting. Their ear tufts are thought to improve hearing and are longer than those of the bobcat.

The backs of a bobcat'sears are marked with two white spots, which a female's kittens probably follow in dim light. Another useful adaptation is the white underside of the bobcat's bobbed tail. Ifkittens fall too far behind their mother, the mother stops and softly calls to them while raising her tail to reveal the white patch below.

Bobcats communicate through scent, visual signalsand vocalizations. The scent markby urinating along travel routes, depositing feces in latrine sitesand scraping urine and feces along trails. These marks can also indicate that a specific den is being used by a female and her kittens, signalthat a female is receptive to mating, or delineatea home range.

They use body postures and facial expressions asclose-range signals to warn off intruders. Bobcatsrarely mew like domestic catsbut will chortle and make birdlike chirps. During mating season, their vocalizations resemble that of a screaming domestic alley cat. North American bobcats primarily use scent marking and visual signals to mark their territory. They rarely use sound to deter other bobcats and instead rely on urine, feces and anal gland secretions, as well as marking scrapes in the ground.

Bobcats mostly eat rabbits and hares. They may also eat rodents, such as squirrels and mice, or hunt small deer, snakes, lizards and domestic animals, such as dogs, cats, sheep, goats and poultry. They can evenleap high enough to catch low-flying birds.

Bobcatsare excellent climbers and can run up to 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour).They stalk their prey with unparalleled patience, and often travel 2 to 7 miles (3 to 11 kilometers) in an evening whilehunting and patrolling their territory.They will place their back feet in the same spots where their front feet have stepped to reduce noise when hunting.

At the Zoo, bobcats eat a prepared meat diet, mice, rats, chicks and bones.