Bobcat
Scientific Name: Lynx rufus
Bobcats are a gray to reddish-brown medium-sized cat species with dark spots, white underbelly, stout body, and a short "bobbed" tail.
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. They are at least double the size of most house cats.
Bobcats have distinctive black bars on their forelegs that can be used to identify individuals, like a fingerprint! They are known by many for their spotted coat; however, the degree of spotting is highly variable throughout their range. In New York, most bobcats have faint or indistinct spots.
Adult size: 30-34 inches in length with males slightly larger than females, tails 5-6'' long
Weight: Varies between 9 to 45 lbs with females 14 lbs and males 21 lbs on average.
Life span: Bobcats may live around 7-10 years or longer in the wild, and longer in captivity. Notably, one lived to 25 years old in captivity and one in the wild in the Adirondacks for 16-17 years.
Maturity: Females breed in their first year while males usually wait till their second year.
Litter size: 1-5 kittens, most often 2-3
Fun Fact
Bobcats may hunt by hiding and ambushing prey or by silently stalking. Once captured, they may hide or bury carcasses to consume later under leaves, dirt, and detritus.
Diet
Bobcats are opportunistic carnivores that on rare occasions consume fruit. They may eat carrion but largely prey on rabbits, small mammals, squirrels, muskrats, beavers, groundhogs, opossums, deer, porcupines, and birds, including ruffed grouse.
In New York, deer and rabbit make up most of the bobcats diet.
Habitat
Bobcats use a variety of habitats including: shrublands, old fields, old farms with patches of woods, conifer bogs and swamps, lowland conifer forest, mixed forest, and deciduous forests with openings and rocky ledges.
Behavior
Average home range sizes are much larger in the Adirondacks (33 sq. mi. females, 136 sq. mi. males) than the Catskills (12 sq. mi. females, 14 sq. mi. males). Bobcats are polygamous and home ranges of female overlap with males but not with other females, while male home ranges may over lap with either sex. They may be active in day or night.
Bobcats den in in caves and rocky areas, dense brush piles, and in downed hollow logs. They may line dens with dry leaves and vegetation.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Bobcats breed starting in late winter through the spring and sometimes into summer. The gestation period is about two months and kits are born in the spring. At 3 months old kits may travel with their mother and will disperse within their first year.
Population Status
Bobcats are not known to be declining at this time. In 2012 NYSDEC estimated the population within areas of the state open to harvest to be around 5,000 individuals.
Viewing
They are hard to find but you may encounter one in old fields, rocky areas, or brushy woodland edges at dawn or dusk. Camera traps are a great way to survey for this elusive species!
Range
Bobcats are found throughout much of the continental U.S. as well as parts of southern Canada and northern Mexico. In New York, bobcats are unevenly distributed, and are most common in the Adirondacks, Catskills and the Hudson Highlands.
For more information on bobcat in New York please visit the NYSDEC page here.
