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Lynx rufus
bobcat


By Deborah Ciszek

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Lynx
Species: Lynx rufus

Geographic Range

Bobcats are found throughout North America from southern Canada to southern Mexico. In the United States population densities are much higher in the southeastern region than in the western states.

Biogeographic Regions
nearctic (Native )

Habitat

Bobcats can be found in a variety of habitats, including forests, semi-deserts, mountains, and brushland. They sleep in hidden dens, often in hollow trees, thickets, or rocky crevices.

Habitat Regions
temperate

Terrestrial Biomes
desert or dune ; savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; mountains

Physical Description

Range mass
4 to 15 kg
(8.81 to 33.04 lb)

Range length
65 to 105 cm
(25.59 to 41.34 in)

Average basal metabolic rate
23.446 W
[External Source: AnAge]

Bobcats range in length from 65 to 105 cm, with the tail adding an extra 11 to 19 cm (bobcats got their name because of their short tails). They are 45 to 58 cm high at the shoulder and weigh between 4 and 15 kg.

Bobcat fur can be various shades of buff and brown, with dark brown or black stripes and spots on some parts of the body. The tip of the tail and the backs of the ears are black. They have short ear tufts, and ruffs of hair on the side of the head, giving the appearance of sideburns.

Other Physical Features
endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Reproduction

The mating system of bobcats is similar to that of domestic cats. Males and females only associate for the brief time required for courtship and copulation, and both males and females may have multiple partners.

Mating System
polygynandrous (promiscuous)

Breeding interval
Bobcats breed once yearly.

Breeding season
Bobcats mate in early spring.

Range number of offspring
1 to 6

Average number of offspring
3
[External Source: AnAge]

Range gestation period
50 to 70 days

Average birth mass
265 g
(9.34 oz)
[External Source: AnAge]

Range weaning age
60 to 70 days

Average time to independence
8 months

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female

365 days
[External Source: AnAge]

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male

730 days
[External Source: AnAge]

Bobcats usually mate in the early spring, although the timing is variable. After a gestation of 60 to 70 days, a litter of about 3 kittens is born. The young open their eyes for the first time when they are 10 days old, and they nurse through their second month. Young bobcats disperse during the winter, when they are about 8 months old.

Key Reproductive Features
iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); fertilization ; viviparous

All female eutherian mammals provide nourishment to their young before birth through the placenta. After the young are born, the mother's milk provides them with further nourishment. Female bobcats bring meat to their young and teach them how to hunt after they are weaned, staying with them for almost a year. Male bobcats do not help raise their offspring.

Parental Investment
altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); post-independence association with parents; extended period of juvenile learning

Lifespan/Longevity

Range lifespan
Status: wild

12 (high) years

Range lifespan
Status: captivity

32 (high) years

Average lifespan
Status: captivity

32.3 years
[External Source: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research]

Average lifespan
Status: wild

15.0 years
[External Source: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research]

Average lifespan
Status: wild

32.3 years
[External Source: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research]

Bobcats live up to 12 years in the wild. In captivity, they may live up to 32 years. (Kurta, 1995)

Behavior

Range territory size
1 to 7 km^2

Like many felids, bobcats are solitary animals. The male and female interact almost exclusively during the mating season. These cats rarely vocalize, although they often yowl and hiss during the mating season.

Bobcats are basically terrestrial and nocturnal, although they are good climbers and are often active at dusk as well as during the night.

Key Behaviors
nocturnal ; solitary ; territorial

Home Range

Bobcats are territorial, using urine, feces, and anal gland secretions to deliniate home ranges that are one to several square kilometers in size. A successful male's home range overlaps with those of several females, and may also overlap the territory of another male. The home ranges of females, which are smaller than those of the males, do not overlap one another.

Communication and Perception

Bobcats mark their territories with scent to repel intruders. They make various yowling sounds to communicate with one another during the breeding season. Like all felids, bobcats have excellent vision and hearing and a well-developed sense of smell.

Communication Channels
acoustic ; chemical

Other Communication Modes
scent marks

Perception Channels
visual ; acoustic

Food Habits

Bobcats are strictly meat eaters. Stealthy hunters, they stalk their prey, then pounce and (if successful) kill with a bite to the vertebrae of the neck. They hunt rodents, rabbits, small ungulates, large ground birds, and sometimes reptiles. They occasionally eat small domesticated animals and poultry.

Primary Diet
carnivore (Eats terrestrial vertebrates)

Animal Foods
birds; mammals; reptiles

Predation

Known Predators


Bobcat kittens are preyed upon by foxes, coyotes, and large owls. Humans are the only real threat to adult bobcats. (Kurta, 1995)

Ecosystem Roles

Bobcats are important predators of many species of mammals and birds.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

In the past bobcats were extensively hunted and trapped for their valuable pelts.

Positive Impacts
body parts are source of valuable material

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Bobcats occasionally eat small domesticated animals, which has resulted in attempts to eradicate them in some areas. In the southeastern United States, bobcats are becoming increasingly habituated to urban and suburban settings, though their reclusive ways make it unlikely that they will be seen.

On rare occasions humans are attacked by bobcats.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [Link]
Least Concern
More Information

US Federal List [Link]
Endangered

CITES [Link]
Appendix II

State of Michigan List [Link]
No special status

Bobcats are listed in CITES Appendix II.

The subspecies Lynx rufus escuinapae (the Mexican bobcat) is listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This subspecies is confined to central Mexico.

There are probably almost one million bobcats living in the United States. In some areas they are quite rare, while in others they have stable and sometimes dense populations. Hence some states allow regulated hunting, while in others they are protected.

For More Information

Find Lynx rufus information at

Contributors

Allison Poor (editor), University of Michigan.

Deborah Ciszek (author), University of Michigan, Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

References

Nowak, R.M., and J.L. Paradiso. 1983. Walker's Mammals of the World. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.

IUCN - The World Conservation Union, 1996. "Species Survival Commision: IUCN Cat Specialist Group: Lynx rufus" (On-line). Accessed Feburary 2, 2001 at http://lynx.uio.no/catfolk/sp-accts.htm.

Kurta, A. 1995. Mammals of the Great Lakes Region. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

To cite this page: Ciszek, D. 2002. "Lynx rufus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed May 22, 2012 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Lynx_rufus.html

Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.

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