Bobcat

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Found extensively throughout North America from southern Canada to southern Mexico, the Bobcat is the most common wildcat in the United States. Nocturnal hunters they are rarely seen by humans. Adaptable to diverse habitats such as, forests, swamps, deserts, and even suburban areas, bobcats are carnivorous dining on a wide range of small mammals from rabbits, birds, mice, and squirrels to larger kill like deer and sheep. Extremely territorial, male bobcats will cover a 40 square mile range whereas up to 3 females may live within the territory of a single male, who will mate with all three females. Females will give birth every other year to a litter of about 3 kittens. When the young are born the female drives the male away until the kittens can eat solid food when the male will bring food to both the mother and the kittens. As the kittens grow the whole family travels throughout the female’s territory until the kittens are about five months old. The young learn to hunt from their mother and stay with their mother for six to nine months. Solitary animals, bobcats leave their mother to find their own territories.

Bobcat - Fast Facts

Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 10 to 12 years
Size: Head and body, 26 to 41 in (66 to 104 cm); Tail, 4 to 7 in (10 to 18 cm)
Weight: 11 to 30 lbs (5 to 14 kg)
Did you know? The bobcat is the most abundant wildcat in the U.S. and has the greatest range of all native North American cats.
Status: STABLE

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