Wild Cats of the World

IUCN RED LIST (2008): Least Concern

Head-body length ♀ 50.8−95.2cm, ♂ 60.3−105cm

Tail 9−19.8cm

Weight ♀ 3.6−1 5.7kg, ♂ 4.5−18.3kg

The Bobcat is classified in the Lynx lineage, where it is believed to be the earliest species to diverge and is more distantly related to the other three Lynx species than they are to each other. Bobcats are known to hybridise with Canada Lynx where the two species overlap. Hybrids have been documented from Maine, Minnesota and New Brunswick, all of them resulting from a male Bobcat mating with a female Lynx. Hybrids were formerly considered to be sterile but at least two female hybrids are known to have reproduced. Twelve Bobcat subspecies are currently described based largely on superficial differences that are unlikely to be valid. Genetic analyses of populations in the contiguous US suggest two subspecies, eastern and western, with a transition zone in the Great Plains grasslands of the central US.

The Bobcat is a medium-sized, stocky felid around two to three times the size of a domestic cat. The body is relatively robust with long legs and a short tail that rarely exceeds 20cm. The head is relatively small with a prominent facial ruff and triangular, black-backed ears with a white spot and short black tufts. The ear-tufts, however, are quite often inconspicuous or missing entirely. Body size varies broadly along a cline, increasing with latitude and elevation so that the largest, heaviest individuals occur at the northern limit of the range, for example in Minnesota, British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced in the Bobcat, with males weighing 25−80 per cent more than females in the same population. The Bobcat’s fur is short, soft and dense with a variable background colour of various shades of frosted grey to rich rust-brown, with markings ranging from faint freckling to large Ocelot-like blotches. Northern Bobcats tend to be paler with minimal markings, especially in the long winter coat. The Bobcat is the only Lynx species in which melanism occurs, mostly recorded from Florida, and albino individuals occur very rarely.

Similar species The Bobcat and Canada Lynx are easily confused and co-occur along a broad swathe of the Canada-US border and south through the Rocky Mountains. The Lynx is generally larger and taller but the largest Bobcats occur in the areas of sympatry; for example, male Bobcats on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, outweigh male Lynx by an average of 40 per cent. The Bobcat’s tail has three to six dark half rings with a vivid white underside and tip, compared to the Lynx’s unstriped tail with a solid black tip.

The Bobcat occurs in an almost continuous range across southern Canada, throughout the contiguous US and throughout Mexico to Oaxaca state. Bobcat range is thought to stop at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico based on habitat modelling. The species was extirpated in the US from the densely populated North-east and from the intensively cultivated Midwest, but has recolonised much of this former range and it now has a presence in every US state except for Delaware. It has re-established populations that are increasing in the Midwestern states where it was previously extirpated (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio). In the 20th century, the Bobcat expanded its range into northern Minnesota, Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba as a result of people converting boreal forest into open habitat. It currently inhabits all southern Canadian provinces.

The Bobcat has an extremely wide habitat tolerance and occurs in virtually any habitat provided there is cover in the form of thick vegetation or broken terrain. It inhabits all types of forest, grassland, prairie, brushland, scrub, semi-desert, desert, marshland, swamp, coastal habitat and rocky habitat. They avoid areas with very deep snow and the northern extent of their range is delimited by heavy snow accumulation. They occur up to 2,575m in the Rockies (US) and to 3,500m on the Colima Volcano in Colima/Jalisco, Mexico. Bobcats readily inhabit anthropogenic habitats including many kinds of farmland but they avoid extensive stands of open agriculture or pasture. Bobcats are able to live close to people including in urban landscapes provided there is cover such as parkland or intact riverine habitat.

The Bobcat is a powerful and opportunistic hunter, recorded killing adult White-tailed Deer weighing up to 68kg, but the majority of the diet is made up of small vertebrates weighing 0.7−5.5kg. Throughout most of the range, Bobcat diet is dominated by lagomorphs especially Snowshoe Hares, cottontails and jackrabbits, which comprise up to 90 per cent of the diet. Depending on the region and season, the amount of lagomorphs in the diet is supplemented or exceeded by other prey types, especially deer or rodents. Bobcats readily prey on White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Pronghorn and Bighorn Sheep, primarily as fawns but kills of healthy adults are not uncommon. Male Bobcats kill more adult deer than do females; many Bobcat populations show a marked sex-based difference in the diet in which both sexes eat mainly lagomorphs, which females supplement with smaller prey such as rodents, and males supplement with larger prey such as deer.

Adult deer are most often killed in the northern range and at higher elevations where Bobcats are large and cold winters provide an advantage. Consumption of deer peaks in the winter when they are most vulnerable due to deep snow and nutritional stress. Outside winter and generally in the rest of the range, fewer adult deer are killed, and fawns often comprise an important part of the diet. For example, Bobcats killed 23 per cent of Pronghorns born during a five-year period in western Utah, and Bobcats were responsible for 67 per cent of White-tailed Deer fawn deaths during a study on Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Bobcats eat a wide variety of rodents. Cotton rats (genus Sigmodon), woodrats (genus Neotoma) and kangaroo rats (genus Dipodomys) are important prey in the south-eastern and south-western US, while North American Porcupine and Mountain Beaver are important in New England and Minnesota, and Washington state, respectively. Squirrels, including Woodchuck, as well as North American Beaver and Muskrat are also eaten. Bobcats living in an urban-rural landscape in northern California make up one of the few populations to eat mainly small rodents, in this case California Voles, which are abundant. Bobcats kill a variety of birds and reptiles, though the incidence of both in the diet is unexpectedly low. The number of reptiles in the diet increases from north to south, reaching a maximum of around 15 per cent of intake in the south-eastern US. Incidental prey of Bobcats includes bats, Virginia Opossum, smaller carnivores (for example Kit Fox, White-nosed Coati and various mustelids), juvenile Javelina and feral pigs, amphibians, fish, arthropods and eggs. Cannibalism is recorded rarely. Bobcats kill sheep, goats, piglets and poultry, though they rarely create major damage except in particular circumstances such as in untended lambing areas where large numbers of young stock may be killed. Bobcats were recorded preying on young Japanese Macaques in a fenced, semi-wild research colony in Texas. Small pets are rarely attacked in suburban and rural areas, and apparently not as prey; domestic cats do not appear in the diet.

Bobcats forage mainly at night with crepuscular activity peaks, but this varies widely depending on the region and season. They tend to be more diurnal during winter and in areas where they are not persecuted; some populations are cathemeral and foraging may occur at any time. Most hunting takes place on the ground but the Bobcat is a very capable climber that readily pursues arboreal prey such as squirrels taking refuge up trees. They also hunt in shallow water for fish or amphibians, and launch attacks at waterfowl on the water. Like many felids, Bobcats hunt primarily by two techniques: moving steadily through their territory searching for prey by sight or sounds and waiting in ambush at strategic sites such as burrow entrances, along game trails, on ledges and near water sources. Most hunts are preceded by a careful stalk culminating in an explosive rush at the quarry, typically from within 10m. While hunting rodents in long grass, Bobcats move slowly into position after locating the prey by sound and attempt capture by a high, arching pounce. Small prey species are killed by biting the skull or nape, while larger prey, such as ungulates, beavers and porcupines, are usually asphyxiated with a throat bite.

For such a well-studied species, Bobcat hunting success rates are poorly known. They sometimes cache carcasses with a covering of dirt or snow to consume over time, for example up to 14 days for an adult deer kill during winter. Bobcats eat carrion; road- and winter-killed deer may be an important food source in northern winters.

The Bobcat is essentially solitary and territorial. Adults socialise mainly when mating but resident males interact amicably with familiar females and kittens. Both sexes establish enduring ranges with exclusive core areas and considerable overlap at the edges. The ranges of males are typically two to three times the size of female ranges but occasionally up to five times as large, for example in Oregon and Maine. Territories are demarcated mainly by urine-marking and scrapes, and defended from same-sex conspecifics; fights are rare but occasionally fatal. The Bobcat’s extensive distribution and very wide habitat tolerance produces a similarly wide variety in spatial characteristics and population density. In general, ranges are largest, overlap is greatest and density is least in northern latitudes, probably due to low prey density and larger Bobcat body size with concomitant energetic demands. Well-protected populations with mild climates in very productive habitat have the smallest ranges and highest densities, for example in California and Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

Average range size varies from 1−2km² (Alabama, California, Louisiana) to 86km² (Adirondack Mountains, New York) for females, and 2−11km² (Alabama, California, Louisiana) to 325km² (Adirondack Mountains, New York) for males. Range size contracts during peaks in the densities of prey, especially of hares and rabbits. Nightly movements can be as large as 20km but are typically 1−5km. Density estimates include 4−6.2 bobcats per 100km² (Idaho, Minnesota, Utah), 6−10 per 100km² (Missouri), 20−28 per 100km² (Arizona, Nevada) and exceptionally exceeding 100 Bobcats per 100km² in areas with both high prey availability and protection from hunting (coastal California and Kiawah Island, South Carolina).

Bobcats are able to reproduce year-round although most mating occurs from December to July with births peaking in spring or summer, strongly so in northern areas. Females that breed early are able to have a second litter in the same year, generally restricted to southern populations where conditions are mild. Oestrus lasts 5−10 days, gestation is 62−70 days. Litter size averages two to three, and exceptionally reaches six. Weaning occurs at two to three months. Kittens reach independence at 8−10 months, and disperse at 9−24 months. Dispersing Bobcats in Montana travelled an average of 6.6km before dying or settling compared to an average distance of 33.4km in Missouri. The longest documented dispersals were by two young males in Idaho that travelled 158km and 182km following a crash in the jackrabbit population. Female Bobcats can breed at 9−12 months but usually first give birth after 24 months. Males are able to reproduce by their second winter (approximately 12–18 months) although few sire kittens until they become territorial residents from around age three onwards.

Mortality Annual adult mortality varies from 20 to 33 per cent for unharvested populations to 33 to 81 per cent for hunted populations. Kitten mortality fluctuates extensively, depending chiefly on prey numbers (and thus risk of starvation) and level of human hunting; for example, 29−82 per cent of kittens died each year in Wyoming in different years of monitoring. Bobcats are mostly killed by people; legal hunting as well as illegal and accidental killing are the primary mortality factors for most populations. The most important natural causes of death are winter starvation and predation by other carnivores, mainly Pumas and Coyotes (as well as domestic dogs in rural/urban populations). There are also rare records of predation by Grey Wolf, Golden Eagle (the latter of kittens), American Alligator and introduced Burmese Python. Episodic outbreaks of infectious disease in dense populations occasionally produce significant mortality; feline panleukopenia was responsible for 17 per cent of mortalities in a high-density Californian population. An epizootic of notoedric mange (feline scabies, arising from mite infection) elevated the annual mortality rate of Bobcats in southern California from 23 per cent to 72 per cent in two years. This population was heavily exposed to anticoagulant rodenticides, thought to have increased its vulnerability.

Lifespan Up to 23 years in the wild (typically much less) and up to 32.2 in captivity.

STATUS AND THREATS

Bobcats are widespread, resilient to human pressures and secure in most of their range. The total population is unknown although it is likely to be greater than 1.4 million in the US alone. Based mainly on harvest data and hunter surveys (the reliability of which are variable), a 2010 analysis estimated the population in the contiguous US at 2.35−3.57 million. Nonetheless, many populations are exposed to intense hunting pressure and the species is vulnerable to overharvest when this is poorly monitored. Around 50,000 Bobcats are legally killed in the US and Canada annually, for recreation and fur. With trade restrictions on spotted cat furs, the Bobcat is now the most heavily traded felid species for its fur. World demand for its fur is at a record high since the 1960s, driven in large part by new markets in China and Russia. Fur hunting can lead to population declines when it is poorly managed and during years with harsh winters; the trapping season in North America often occurs around winter, coinciding with high rates of natural mortality especially when lagomorph numbers decline in poor years. Bobcats are also persecuted for supposed livestock depredation (for example, in Mexico) and 2,000−2,500 are killed annually in legal predator control in the US in response mostly to depredation complaints. There is anecdotal evidence that Bobcat numbers have declined in southern Florida with the spread of invasive Burmese Pythons, and exposure to anticoagulant rodenticides in southern California is believed to have mediated a population crash by increasing its vulnerability to disease.

CITES Appendix II. Red List: Least Concern. Population trend: Stable (considered to be increasing in much of the US and southern Canada).