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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing bobcats. These fuzzy felines are classified in the Lynx genus, so they're lynxes, though they're a bit unique. Bobcats are smaller than their relatives who tend to live further north. They have shorter ear tufts and bare foot pads, unlike other lynxes with furry soles to insulate them from frigid temperatures. The bobcat's closest relative, in terms of location, is the Canada lynx. The Canada lynx has a black tipped tail while the bobcat's tail is both black and white. 

The name bobcat comes from this feline's bobbed tail which is typical for the lynx family. Canada lynxes are solid colored, but bobcats are banded with russet colored fur. This helps them blend in better with their temperate surroundings. It also lends to one of the bobcat's other common names: the red lynx - which also gives a hint to this mammal's scientific name.

These kitties live in a wide variety of habitats, they don't even mind water! They do, however, have a preference for forests with access to rocks for dens. When they're out and about, away from their denning site, bobcats will also utilize tree hollows and thickets for resting. It's like they have vacation homes! In fact, bobcats are so adaptable to human encroachment, they're referred to as the feline version of the coyote - though the cats are far less frequently seen. The red lynx uses agricultural fields with adjacent woods for gathering pesky rodents and lagomorphs which can be quite beneficial to farmers. In areas with large expanses of agriculture and little standing trees, such as the state of Illinois, the bobcat has significantly reduced populations. In these places they're listed as varying levels of threatened with extinction, though the population overall is secure. 

Female bobcats are smaller and have smaller territories than males. The boys' territories overlap with several ladies, but girls generally don't share with each other. That being said, bobcats use scent to mark their territory boundaries as well as scratches on trees, but they're generally non-aggressive towards each other. They just kind of… avoid one another. In some areas, they'll even share prime locations like rocky outcrops that overhang a hunting valley - at different times of the day, of course. So while they're considered solitary, and don't often interact, they live near each other and females travel with their young for most of the year.

The bobcat mating season is in late winter and early spring. These cats don't mind the cold! Females mate with multiple males if given the opportunity, and their gestation is just over two months in length, much like a housecat! The kittens are born in the rocky den, and there are two to four babies per litter on average. If the young are lost early enough in the season, the female produces a second litter in the same season. The kittens leave the den by four weeks of age, and they're weaned at eight weeks, but they stay with their mother until the breeding season the following year. During this time, she teaches them essential hunting skills.

Bobcats are "wait and pounce" predators. Their main prey are small mammals like small rodents and rabbits, but they also eat birds, lizards, raccoons, skunks, and even deer! These felines more frequently take deer fawns, but they're also able to bring down adult deer in deep snow. Adult bobcats tend to top the food chain, but babies are taken by foxes, owls, and even male bobcats.

In terms of size, bobcats are considered about twice the size of a housecat on average, so about 15 to 30 pounds (6.8-13.6kg). They stand about two feet (61cm) tall at the shoulder, though southern living individuals are smaller than those that live in the north. Bobcats range from southern Canada to most of Mexico. Cold weather stops them in the northern part of their range, along with competition from the Canada lynx, but they have slowly advanced northward as the climate around the globe continues to rise. On average, bobcats live six to eight years. They can reach up to ten years old, but it's rare.

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