Bobcat
(Felis rufus)

Description:  A small member of the cat family, the bobcat’s coat is reddish, buffy or gray with brown or black spots or stripes on its back and legs.  The belly is white and spotted black.  Males reach 20-30lbs and females 15-25lbs.  The bobcat can reach 23 inches in height at the shoulder and up to three feet in length.  They will live to be about 14 years of age in healthy environments.

 Identifiers:  A short, “bobbed” tail is about 2-5 inches in length (separating itself from the long tail of the Florida panther), though it can be longer.  Bobcats can also be easily identified by their triangular-shaped ears, complete with tufts on the ends, and facial tufts referred to as sideburns.  They are much smaller than mature Florida Panthers.

Status:  Common in Florida, but rarely seen, as they are usually nocturnal and secretive.

Reproduction:  Usually mate in spring, with a litter of between 2-4 kittens 50-60 days later.  Bobcats den in hollow logs or trees or in ground dens.

Distribution: Throughout the United States and into southern Canada and southeastern Mexico.

Habitat:  Swamps, forests and fields.  Bobcats have well-defended territories.  In Florida, territories are typically several square miles in size, depending upon prey quantities and habitat quality.

Diet: Hunts for small mammals and birds

Call:  Usually silent, but will yowl, scream and occasionally purr.

Signs:  Foot tracks do not have claw marks (unlike dog tracks) and resemble a house cat print.  To distinguish, house cat prints are about 1 inch in width, while mature bobcats are roughly 1.75 inches and mature Florida panthers around 3 inches.

Fun Facts:

• Bobcats usually only rest for two-three hours at a time.
• Solitary except when mating or when females raise young.
• The Coryi Foundation (www.coryi.org) estimates that a female bobcat with three young born at the beginning of her second year will consume at least 3800 cotton rats, 700 cottontail rabbits, and 3200 cotton mice by the end of her second year.
• Bobcats have been known to breed with house cats, producing a cross that can have a longer tail, smaller body and different colorings than the bobcat.  This is, however, very rare.
• Melanistic (black) bobcats are rare, but do exist along the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida and in southern Florida.  They may be mistaken for house cats or immature Florida panthers.

(Species Archive Index)

FMNP Home | Information | Registration | Newsletter | Resources | Search

For more information contact  info@masternaturalist.org
©   University of Florida, IFAS
All rights reserved. Published 2002-