Bobcat

The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is equipped with razor-sharp claws, needle-like teeth, and the strength to make good use of these weapons. The bobcat is so named because of it's 'bobbed' tail. This may be a misnomer given that its tail has been recorded as being as long as 18 inches. The false perception that the bobcat has hardly any tail has given rise to many people thinking they have seen a panther when they have, in fact, seen a bobcat.

Bobcats vary in coloration, but are generally tawny-brown and spotted.  In fact, some bobcats have so many spots that they actually appear black.  Their undersides are yellowish-white, spotted with black. The legs are spotted on the outside and barred with black on the inside. Bobcats can measure up to three feet in length, including the tail, and weigh 15 to 30 pounds. Bobcats are excellent climbers.

Widely distributed throughout most of North America, this cat has adapted well to civilization and is found throughout Florida. The bobcat is equally at home in deep forest, swamps, and hammock land. Thick patches of saw palmetto and dense shrub thickets are important as den and resting sites in Florida. Bobcats can range five or six square miles and generally cover their territory in a slow, careful fashion.

The female bobcat can breed after one year which occurs in late winter or early spring. In Florida, bobcats breed from August to March with the peak in February and March. One to four young are born after a gestation period (the period in which offspring are carried in the uterus) of 50 to 60 days. The average litter size is two to three kittens, and the young have mottled or spotted fur with more distinct facial marking than the adults, but their eyes do not open until about nine days old. The young are weaned in about two months, but not beore they are taught hunting skills by their parents.

An extremely efficient hunter, the botcat, like most felines, hunts by sight and usually at night. Bobcats will eat just about anything that moves, but mammals are by far the most important group of prey animals. In Florida, the eastern cottontail, marsh rabbit, cotton rat, and an occasional young white-tailed deer are the primary prey species. By feeding on these animals, the bobcat provides a necessary control on their populations. Since Florida is also an important wintering habitat for migrating birds, the bobcat’s winter diet reflects this abundance and includes ground-dwelling birds such as towhees, robins, catbirds and thrashers.

Most Floridians have never seen a bobcat, though the fringes of suburbia continue to move ever closer to its habitat. Swift and secretive, hunting mostly at night, bobcats are the most discreet of neighbors and an integral part of Florida’s wildlife community.

The Florida bobcat's unpredictable disposition does not make it a popular candidate for a pet. Nor does its strikingly marked pelt have much market value. Catching even a fleeting glimpse of this secretive and beautiful creature, however, can make anyone's outdoor experience more enjoyable.

You can receive technical assistance for bobcat problems by contacting your nearest  FWC regional office.

More information 

• Information about Bobcat tracks
• Mammals of Texas Wildlife Fact Sheet
• Big cats online information
• Pelotes Island Nature Preserve, and hear a bobcat
• Illinois Department of Natural Resources information

Wildlife Viewing Information

Wildlife Viewing Destinations
Where you can find bobcats