An Adult Bobcat

Bobcats are nocturnal. They have dark spots on their tawny colored fur and are smaller than their endangered cousin, the Florida panther. The easiest way to identify the two cats is to look at their tails. The bobcat's tail is much shorter than the panther's Bobcats are carnivores and feed on rodents, marsh rabbits, raccoons, birds, and fawns.
 
 

HABITAT, SENSES, FEEDING:
Except for the eastern central states, the bobcat lives in most of the US. It prefers woody areas or grassy areas and has a territory that may include five to fifty miles. The bobcat is generally nocturnal, partly because the animals it hunts and eats, are most active at night. Bobcats like to eat rabbits, rats, squirrels, ground nesting birds, turkeys, and even small or sick deer. Sometimes they will kill and eat chickens or lambs on a farm. Bobcats can only eat about 3 pounds of meat at a time, so if they get a big animal like a deer, they will drag it to a safe spot and cover it up. Later they will come back, eating again and again, until the meat rots. Bobcats hardly ever eat rotten meat. They have excellent vision and hearing, and use these senses most in hunting. The bobcat can also hide in a bush and leap out when a rabbit or a squirrel runs by. The bobcat uses his claws to catch the animal, then kills its prey by biting the animals neck. Bobcats can run at up to 30 miles per hour, but they would rather walk. They put their back feet in the same spots where their front feet stepped. That way, they don't make so much noise by snapping extra twigs under their feet. Bobcats climb well. They can also swim, but they prefer not to do it. Like house cats, bobcats mark their territory with urine.

Description:
Bobcats are medium sized cats, about 2 feet tall and weighing about 20 pounds. They are larger than house cats , they are not nearly as big as a lion and are to small to eat people.
They are usually reddish brown. Their fur is spotted when the bobcats are born  but the spots fade to black streaks. Bobcats have very short tails only three to seven inches long. Bobcats have very sharp teeth and are carnivores.
 
 

DENS AND REPRODUCTION: Bobcats like to den in crevices in rocks, under fallen logs, or under the root mass of a fallen tree. When the mother has babies, she has to find a dry den that her babies will be safe in. Bobcats usually live alone, and mate in late winter. About two months later, two or three kittens are born. The mother nurses them, and when they are older, she brings meat for them to eat. . When the kittens are two months old, they don’t need milk any more and can eat grown-up food. They stay with their mother until the fall. By then, they are half-grown and weigh about twelve pounds. They are ready to live on their own. Bobcats live to be ten or twelve years old.