Bobcat (Lynx rufus): Facts, Size, Habitat and Diet

What does a bobcat look like?

A bobcat has a tawny, grayish-brown or reddish coat marked with dark spots and streaks, which gives it good camouflage in brush and leaf litter. The underparts, lips and chin are off-white, and the front legs carry distinctive black bars. The face looks wide because of ruffs of longer fur on the cheeks, a bit like sideburns.

The pointed ears have black backs with a white spot and short black tufts at the tips. The famous tail is short and stubby, banded with dark bars and black only on the upper side of the tip, while the underside is white. Eyes are yellow with vertical, slit-shaped pupils that open wide at night.

Coat color changes with the landscape. Bobcats in the deserts of the Southwest are the palest, while those in northern forests are darker and more heavily marked. A few black (melanistic) bobcats have been recorded, mostly in Florida.

Bobcat tracks are round, with four toe pads and no claw marks, because the claws are retracted while walking. A typical print is about 4–5 cm (1.5–2 in) across, larger than a house cat’s but much smaller than a cougar’s. Like other cats, a walking bobcat places its hind feet almost exactly in the prints of its front feet.

How big is a bobcat?

Bobcats are the smallest of the four lynx species on average, but they are still sturdy predators with long legs and big paws. Head-and-body length is usually 65–105 cm (26–41 in), and the tail adds only 9–20 cm (3.5–8 in). Most stand about 45–60 cm (18–24 in) at the shoulder.

Bobcats get larger toward the north, so the biggest animals come from eastern Canada and northern New England, and the smallest from the southern Appalachians and Southeast. The heaviest accurately weighed bobcat was about 22 kg (49 lb). Heavier claims exist, but they are poorly documented. For a detailed comparison with house cats and lynxes, see how big is a bobcat?

Habitat and range

The bobcat has one of the widest ranges of any North American cat. It lives from southern Canada, roughly from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, through most of the contiguous United States and south to the state of Oaxaca in Mexico. It is absent from Alaska, the far north and the tropical lowlands of southern Mexico.

Within that range it is remarkably flexible. Bobcats live in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, Florida swamps, Texas brushland, Arizona and California deserts, rocky canyons and mountains. What they need is dense cover for stalking and resting, sheltered den sites and plenty of small prey. Only large tracts of intensively farmed, open land are truly unsuitable.

Deep snow limits bobcats in the north, because their paws are much smaller than those of the Canada lynx and sink in soft snow. During the 20th century bobcats disappeared from parts of the Midwest and Northeast, but they have since returned to many areas and now occur in nearly every state of the lower 48. They increasingly turn up on the edges of towns and suburbs.

Scientists currently recognize two subspecies. Lynx rufus rufus lives east of the Great Plains, and Lynx rufus fasciatus lives to the west, from the Rockies to the Pacific coast. The two groups were probably separated during the Ice Ages, when the plains became too dry and open for them.

What do bobcats eat?

Bobcats are carnivores and skilled ambush hunters. Their main prey is rabbits and hares: cottontails such as the eastern cottontail in much of the United States, and snowshoe hares in the north. In the far south, cotton rats can be just as important.

They also eat squirrels, mice, voles, gophers, muskrats, birds and their eggs, reptiles and insects. Prey of around 0.7–6 kg (1.5–13 lb) is ideal. In winter, when small prey is scarce, some bobcats take deer, especially fawns, and occasionally elk calves or pronghorn. A bobcat that kills a large animal eats its fill, then covers the carcass with leaves or snow and returns to feed on it over several days.

The usual technique is to stalk under cover or wait in ambush, then rush the last few meters and pounce. For a closer look at the menu, see what do bobcats eat?

Behavior and territory

Bobcats are solitary and territorial. Each animal has a home range marked with urine, feces and claw marks on prominent trees. Home ranges vary enormously, from under 1 km² (0.4 sq mi) to more than 300 km² (115 sq mi), depending on prey and region. Males usually have larger ranges than females and tolerate more overlap with neighbors.

Within its range a bobcat uses a main den plus several shelters, such as hollow logs, brush piles, rock crevices and thickets. It is most active from a few hours before sunset to around midnight and again around dawn, traveling roughly 3–11 km (2–7 mi) a night. Bobcats are good climbers and can swim, although they usually avoid water.

Most of the time bobcats are silent. During the breeding season, though, they can scream, yowl and hiss loudly enough to alarm people who hear them at night.

Reproduction and kittens

Mating usually takes place from winter into early spring, mostly in February and March. After a gestation of about 60–70 days, the female gives birth in a sheltered den such as a small cave, a rock crevice or a hollow log. Litters contain one to six kittens, usually two to four, and most are born in April or May.

Newborn kittens weigh about 270–340 g (9.5–12 oz) and are already spotted. Their eyes open at around 9–10 days, and they are weaned at about two months. The mother raises them alone. From three to five months the kittens travel with her and learn to hunt, and they usually disperse in their first fall or winter. Females can breed by their first or second year.

How long do bobcats live?

In the wild, bobcats usually live up to about 7–10 years; many young animals die in their first year, soon after leaving their mothers. The oldest known wild bobcat was about 16 years old. In captivity, with regular food and care, bobcats have lived for more than 30 years, an exceptional record.

Predators and threats

Adult bobcats have few natural enemies. Cougars and gray wolves can kill them, and coyotes kill kittens and sometimes adults. Kittens are also taken by great horned owls, eagles, foxes and bears. In Florida, American alligators occasionally catch bobcats near water.

The main causes of death are human-related: regulated hunting and trapping for fur, vehicle collisions, disease and starvation. In urban areas of California, research has linked rat poisons (rodenticides) to secondary poisoning and severe mange in bobcats that eat poisoned rodents. Roads and development also break up habitat, which reduces the movement of bobcats between populations. In the Florida Everglades, bobcat sightings dropped sharply as invasive Burmese pythons spread.

Conservation status

The bobcat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with a stable population trend. It is widespread, adaptable and common across most of its range, although information from southern Mexico is limited. The species is listed in Appendix II of CITES, which means international trade in its fur is monitored.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated 700,000 to 1.5 million bobcats in the United States in 1988, and later surveys of state wildlife agencies suggested that numbers have grown since then. At state level, protection varies: New Jersey, for example, lists the bobcat as endangered, while many other states allow regulated hunting.

Myths and facts

Myth: Bobcats are just big house cats. Bobcats are wild lynxes, not domestic cats gone wild. They belong to a different genus and evolved in North America from lynx ancestors that crossed from Asia.

Myth: A bobcat seen in daylight must be sick. Bobcats are often active by day, especially in fall and winter and in quiet places. Daytime activity alone is normal.

Myth: Bobcats are a serious danger to people. Attacks are extremely rare and are usually linked to rabies. Bobcats normally avoid humans; see are bobcats dangerous?

Bobcats and people

Bobcats appear in many Indigenous stories of North America; a Shawnee tale, for example, explains the bobcat’s spots as marks left by scattered embers. The species is also a popular sports mascot in the United States, including Rufus the Bobcat at Ohio University.

Today many people see bobcats on trail cameras or crossing quiet suburban roads. Because they are shy and active at dawn and dusk, they are often overlooked even where they are common. Bobcats are easily confused with the Canada lynx in the north, so it is worth learning the differences in our guide to bobcat vs lynx.