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 delineate 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.