Bobcat

Lynx rufus · The bobcat is a medium-sized wild cat with a stubby "bobbed" tail, native to North America from southern Canada through most of the United States to Oaxaca in Mexico.

Also called Red lynx, Bay lynx.

Bobcat
Photo: Becker1999 (Paul and Cathy), CC BY 2.0
Bobcat
Photo: National Marine Sanctuaries, Public domain
Bobcat
Photo: (c) Emma, some rights reserved (CC BY), CC BY 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCarnivora
FamilyFelidae
GenusLynx
SpeciesLynx rufus

Where it lives

Forests, deserts and swamps from southern Canada through the US to central Mexico.

Fun facts

  • A bobcat can ambush a deer, even though deer are far larger, and prey up to eight times its own weight can be taken.
  • After killing a deer, a bobcat eats its fill, then buries the leftovers under snow or leaves and comes back to feed several times.
  • A captive bobcat once lived to be 32 years old, while the oldest wild one on record was 16.
  • Bobcat kittens are born already furry and with their spots.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).