The bobcat is so named because of it’s short tail. It is closely related to the lynx and a member of the cat family, felidae with it's scientific name being lynx rufus. It is an extremely wary animal with most people never having seen one in the wild. Being nocturnal, they are mostly active at night and in the early morning.
They have short, soft fur light brown to tan in color with dark spots on the underside. They range from southern Canada to central Mexico and favor rocky terrain. They feed on small animals such as rabbits, ground squirrels, gophers, mice, birds and lizards, etc. They are excellent climbers and live in rocky crevices , small caves and hollow trees. At the first sign of danger, they seem to just disappear as they blend in well with the surrounding terrain. It’s the rare hunter who gets a second chance with the bobcat. Their average weight is around 15lbs with the males occasionally going to 25 or 26 lbs. The male is slightly larger then the female. The females give birth to 3 or 4 kittens in early summer when the food supply is most plentiful. The young leave the nest by late summer. Thought to be endangered by animal rights groups, they are in fact plentiful. Nonetheless there is a scientifically determined and limited take of this animal. I have seen very few hunters ever fill out their tags. As with any predator, their numbers will fluctuate according to the available food supply. During years with heavy rains their numbers explode right along with their prey.