WEST VIRGINIA MAMMALS — KELLOGG 457 



LYNX RUFUS RUFUS (Schreber) 



Bobcat, or Wild Cat 



Maxwell's tabulation (1898, p. 216) of bounty payments shows 

 that bobcats were abundant in Randolph County before the Civil 

 War, 66 being killed in 1855, 106 in 1857, and 80 in 1859. An adult 

 and a young collected at Rowlesburg were shipped to the Smith- 

 sonian Institution in January 1856 by A. Brakeley. In the interval 

 between March 1897 and February 1902, W. J. Yeager collected 25 

 bobcats in Pocahontas County for the U. S. Biological Survey. The 

 West Virginia Conservation Commission reported that bounty 

 payments had been made on 153 bobcats during the year 1936. 

 Of these, 30 were killed in Pocahontas County and 21 in Randolph 

 County. The bobcat seems to have adapted itself to changing 

 conditions and now survives in the partially cleared land and also 

 in the forested areas of eastern West Virginia. 



There is some seasonal as well as considerable individual variation 

 in the coloration and the extent of spotting, but apparently no sexual 

 correlation. No seasonal uniformity in the degree of intensity of the 

 color tones in the spots was observable in a series of 29 sldns. The 

 spots were, however, much more sharply demarcated on the limbs 

 and the sides of the body than elsewhere. 



The two males taken during October and November are more 

 rufous and much lighter in coloration than the other specimens, and 

 the long black overhairs do not materially darken the upperparts. 

 In the case of eight males and six females taken during January, the 

 tawny mid-dorsal stripe is accentuated by the long black overhairs. 

 The spotting on the sides of the body is rather conspicuous on two 

 of the males. Of the four males taken during February, two are 

 somewhat grayish and the others more cinnamon colored. The 

 wearing off of the long black overhairs and the light tips of the other 

 hairs on skins of animals taken during March, April, and May likewise 

 alters the color tones. 



The coloration of the underparts seems to be more uniform than 

 that of the upperparts. During the winter months the males seem 

 to have more white hair. In the case of the females, however, the 

 long white hairs are largely restricted to the throat and chest, while 

 the cinnamon-buff to pinkish-cinnamon hairs of the sides encroach 

 on the median line of the belly. 



Average measurements of 11 adult males: Total length, 870 

 (787-935); tail, 146 (133-165); hind foot, 171 (162-195). Skull: 

 Greatest length, 126 (120-131); condylobasal length, 114.3 (109.4- 

 118.6); depth of braincase at basisphenoid, 43,8 (42.8-45.5); zygo- 

 matic breadth, 88.3 (82.2-93); mastoid breadth, 54.2 (50.3-58.6); 

 interorbital constriction, 23.3 (22.5-26.6); distance between ends of 

 postorbital processes, 59 (55.5-66); least distance anteriorly between 



