Bobcats

Bobcats

Jackie Johnson

Bio/101

October 16,2017

David Ormond

Bobcats

The bobcat is a North American cat that appeared during the Irvington stage of around 1.8 million years ago (Alroy, 2017). Containing 12 recognized subspecies, it ranges from Southern Canada to central Mexico, including most of the contiguous United States.

The bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semidesert, urban edge, forest edge, and swampland environments. It remains in some of its original range, but populations are vulnerable to local extinction by coyotes and domestic animals. With a gray to brown coat, whiskered face, and black tufted ears, the bobcat resembles the other species of mid-sized lynx genus.  It is smaller than the Canadian Lynx with which it shares part of its range, but it is twice as large as a domestic cat. It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs and a black tipped stubby tail, from which it derives its name (National Geographic, 2017).

Though bobcats prefer rabbits and hares, it hunts insects, chickens, turkey, geese, and other birds, small rodents, and deer. Prey selection depends on location and habitat, season, and abundance of prey. Like most cat’s bobcats are territorial and largely solitary, although with some overlap in home ranges.  It uses several methods to mark its territorial boundaries, including claw marks and deposits of urine and feces.

        Although bobcats have been hunted extensively by humans, both for sport and fur, their population has proven resilient though declining in some areas. The elusive predator features in Native America mythology and European folklore.

        The bobcat resembles other species of the lynx genus, but on average is the smallest of the four (National Geographic, 2017). Its coat is variable though generally tan to grayish-brown, with dark streaks on the body and dark bars on the forelegs and tail.[pic 1]

Its spotted pattern acts as a camouflage. The ears are black tipped and pointed with short black tuffs. Generally, an off-white color is seen on the lips, chin and underpart. Bobcats in the desert region of the southwest have the lightest colored coat, while those in the northern forest are darkest. Kittens are born well furred and already have their spots (Calahan). There has been a few melanistic bobcats sighted and captured in Florida. They appear black but still have the spot pattern (Ulmer Jr, 1941).[pic 2] The face appears wide due to ruffs of extended hair beneath the ears. Bobcats eye are yellow with black pupils, the nose is pinkish red, and it has a base color of gray or yellowish brown. Being a nocturnal creature the pupils on this cat are round much like human eyes and will dilate completely for maximum light reception. This cat has sharp hearing and vision, as well as a keen sense of smell. This limber creature is also an excellent climber.

        An adult bobcat is 18.7 to 49.2 inches long from head to the base of its tail, averaging 32.6 inches. One could also add 3.5 to 7.9 inches for the stubby bobbed tail, from which the gorgeous creatures gained their name. these cats can stand anywhere from 12 to 24 inches at the shoulders. Adult males can range in weigh anywhere from 14 to 40 lbs., with an average weight of 21lbs., females 8.8 to 37.7 lbs., with an average of 15lbs.

        The largest known bobcat was said to have come from Canada and New England of the subspecies L.r gigas, while the smallest are the southeastern subspecies that are found around me in the Great Smoky Mountains.

        The bobcat is crepuscular, meaning it is active mostly at twilight. It keeps on the move from about 3 hours before sunset to about midnight, and then again from before dawn till about 3 hours after sunrise. Each night it will move from 2 to 7 miles along its habitual route (National Geographic, 2017).  This behavior may vary seasonally, as bobcats become more diurnal during fall and winter, meaning they change in response to their prey, which are more active during the day in colder weather. (National Geographic, 2017)  This species confines their activity to their well defined territories, hich vary in size depending on the sex and distribution of prey. They mark their home ranges with feces, urine scent, and by clawing prominient trees in the area. In its territory , the cat has numerous places of shelter, usually a main den, as well as several auxilary shelters on the outer edge of its range, such as hollow logs, brush piles, thickets, and under rock ledges. Its den smells strongly of bobcat (National Geographic, 2017).

        These  remarkable creatures  can go for long periods without food, but eat heavily when prey is abundant. During lean periods, it often preys on larger animals in which, it can bury and feed on more than once. This astonishing creature hunts by tracking its prey and attacks with a quick pounce or chase before it goes in for the kill.

        The prey of these beasts varies by region. In the eastern US, it is the eastern cottontail species and in the north, it’s the snowshoe hare. In the far south, the rabbits and hares are sometimes replaced with cotton rats as primary food source. Birds up to the size of swans, are also taken along with their fledging and eggs. The bobcat is a resourceful predator that unlike the more specialized Canadian Lynx, ungrudgingly fluctuates it prey selection. Diet diversification positively correlates to a decline in numbers of the bobcats’ principle prey; the abundance of its main factor of overall diet. Nevertheless, some amount of predation may be misidentified, as bobcats have been known to scavenge on the remains of livestock kills from their predators.