Bobcat
Classification:
Order Carnivora
Family Felidae
Felix rufus
Conservation
Status:
Stable
CITES Appendix 2
Description:
Bobcats are medium-sized cats with a very short tail, long legs,
and short tufts on the ears. Their
color can vary from buff to brown, gray, or reddish-orange, and is often
streaked or spotted with darker colors.
Their belly is white with black spots.
Their total length is 36-46 inches.
Range:
Most of
Habitat:
Forests, mountains, semi-deserts, and brushlands
Diet:
Their diet in the wild changes with the seasons and available prey.
They usually eat rabbits, hares, and deer (usually injured or
young), and sometimes rodents and other small mammals.
In the zoo, our bobcats eat carnivore diet (meat).
Life
Cycle:
The breeding season is usually February through May, and females
can breed twice each season. Gestation
is 63 days. Litters range from
1-7 kittens (usually 3). Kittens
are born with their eyes closed, and they first leave the den when they
are about 5 weeks old. They
begin hunting with their mother at 3-5 months.
When they are 7-9 months old, they leave the mother to live on
their own. Bobcats can live up
to 14 years in the wild, and up to 32 years in captivity.
Did You Know?
· Bobcats resemble the Lynx, which is usually found in more northerly latitudes. Bobcats are smaller, with smaller feet and shorter ear tufts.
· Bobcats are territorial. They mark their territories with feces, urine, and scratch marks. Males sometimes tolerate other males in their home range, but females do not tolerate other females. Young bobcats travel until they can establish their own territories.
· They are mainly nocturnal. They spend their days in one of several dens that may be scattered about their territory.
· Their only natural predators are pumas.
· Bobcats are not threatened, but they are listed in CITES II so that trade in furs can be monitored.