Bobcat
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.
Habitat
Bobcats can be found in a variety
of habitats, including forests, semi-deserts, mountains, and brushland.
They sleep in hidden dens, often in a hollow tree, thicket, or rocky crevice.
Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune
; savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; mountains .
Physical Description
Mass
4 to 15 kg
(8.8 to 33 lbs)
Head and body length 65 - 105 cm,
tail length 11 - 19 cm (bobcats got their name because of their short tails).
Shoulder height 45 - 58 cm.
The 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.
Reproduction
Bobcats usually mate in the early
spring, although the timing is variable. After a gestation of 60-70 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.
Like many felids, bobcats are solitary
animals. The male and female interact almost exclusively during the mating
season. They 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. 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.
