The Lynx or Bobcat

The Bobcat looks much like other species of the Lynx genus but is the smallest of the four.

Its coat is variable, though generally tan to grayish brown, with black streaks on the body and dark bars on the forelegs and tail.

It is spotted patterning acts as camouflage.

The ears are black-tipped and pointed, with short black tufts.

Their color also varies by the region they inhabit. Bobcats in the desert regions of the southwest have the lightest colored coats, while those in the northern, forested regions are darkest.

Kittens are born very furry and already have their spots.

The face appears wide due to ruffs of extended hair beneath the ears. The fur is brittle but quite long and dense.

The nose of the Bobcat is pinkish-red, and it has a base color of gray or yellowish- or brownish-red on its face, sides, and back.

Bobcat eyes are yellow with vertical elongated black pupils that widen to help them see better at night.

The historical range of the Bobcat was from southern Canada, throughout the United States, and as far south as the Mexican state of Oaxaca, and it still persists across much of this area.

Fierce Lynx by ZillaFX
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Lynx Postcard by Critterpainter
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Canadian Lynx by almedic104
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Lynx Print by ouidamac
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The bobcat is a carnivore and has a diet of mostly meat.

They stalk their prey and then pounce on it, going for the neck for the kill.

Their most common diet is rabbits, hares, rats, redents, squirrels, birds, fish, reptile and even insects.

Less commonly, they have been known to sometimes hunt foxes, minks, skunks, small domesticated animals and small livestock like goats, sheep and chickens.

The bobcat is often hunted by foxes, coyotes, owls, Cougars and wolves.

The kits are sometimes killed by male bobcat.

The largest threat to the bobcats existance come in the human form.

Canadian Lynx by mbarkerphotos
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Animal Calendar 2010 by mmersdesign
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Lifespan
Bobcats live on the average six to eight years. Very few live past ten years of age. There has been rare cases of a bobcat living as long as sixteen years in the wild and thirty two years in captivity.

Reproduction
Spring is the most common mating season for the bobcat. They breed much like the common housecat, with a female often having several different male mates. There is a lot of neck biting, howling and screams during breeding.

The female will have her kits often in a cave, or hollow log, any sheltered area will do. Her gestation period is sixty to seventy days. The lynx has between one and six kittens, with an average of two to four in a litter. The kits will open their eyes in nine to ten days and are usually weaned by two months. Though they will stay with their mother longer.

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The Bobcat is nocturnal, and does most all of it's activities at night.

They travel two to seven miles every day. There teritory is marked with feces, urine scent, and by clawing prominent trees in the area.

Like most big cats there territory is usually solitary, but they will often overlap. They may have more than one home within that territory, which usually consists of dens made in hollow logs, brush piles, thickets, or under rock ledges

They are usually known to be quiet except during mating season where their yowls and hisses can be heard.

How the bobcat got it's spots

According to Shawnee Indian lore, the bobcat got his spots due to an encounter with a rabbit that he had chased into a tree. The wily rabbit suggested that the bobcat build a fire in order to be ready to start cooking - once the fire was going, the rabbit jumped in its center and sent sparks flying so that embers landed on the bobcat. The rabbit escaped as the bobcat ran to the river to extinguish his coat, which the embers had left with telltale burned spots.

The Hiker's Notebook

Native American Legends
Badger carries Darkness: Coyote and Bobcat scratch each other

A White Mountain Apache Legend
Coyote was traveling along. Badger always used to carry darkness on his back. Coyote met him. "My cross-cousin, what's in the bag you carry?" he asked. He was hungry and he thought Badger had food in his sack.

Because he thought there was food in there, Coyote wanted to stay around where Badger was and maybe get something to eat. So the two traveled on together for a way. Then Coyote was thinking he would offer to carry the load and let Badger rest.

Follow this link for the rest of the legend:
The First People - The Legends

This is from the Shoshone Bannock indians, the legend behind the reason they will not hunt the bobcat:

A trip to the Moon

Native American Legends
Old Man and the roasted Squirrels
A Blackfoot Legend

One time as Old Man was walking along, he came to a place where many squirrels were playing in some very hot ashes. While some squirrels lay in the ashes, others would cover them with even more ashes. When the buried squirrels became so hot that they couldn't take the heat any more, they would call out to the others, who would take them out at once. After Old Man had watched them for a little while, he asked them if he could play with them, too.

The rest of the story

Old Man And The Lynx
This story is also re-told as "Old Man And The Lynx"...

Old Man was traveling round over the prairie, when he saw a lot of prairie-dogs sitting in a circle. They had built a fire, and were sitting around it. Old Man went toward them, and when he got near them, he began to cry, and said, "Let me, too, sit by that fire."

The prairie-dogs said: "All right, Old Man. Don't cry. Come and sit by the fire."

The rest of the story

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