Wild Cat 
ages, among which were several sabre-toothed tigers with enormous 
teeth or tusks five or six inches in length. 
Wild Cat 
Lynx ruffus (Guldenstzdt) 
Also called Bay Lynx, Bob Cat, Catamount. 
Length. 38 inches. 
Description. Legs rather long, ears tufted, tail very short (6 
inches). General colour yellowish-brown, tinged with rufous 
(much redder in summer), spotted with dark brown or 
black, narrow lines on the head and blackish stripe down 
the back, chin and throat white, below white spotted with 
black. 
Range. Eastern North America, replaced in Florida, Nova Scotia 
and the West by allied varieties. 
Wild cats or bob cats were once common in all the thick 
woods of this country, but are now only to be found in the 
most thinly settled backwoods districts. 
These big stub-tailed cats do not appear to insist on deep, 
dark forests for their homes, though they seldom remain long 
in a region where much of the land has been cleared and cul- 
tivated. Hillsides and clearings overgrown with brambles and 
young growth are quite as much to their taste as dense forests 
of heavy timber. 
For the greater part of the year they hunt alone or in 
pairs, prowling on soft furry paws through bushes and tangled 
berry patches where rabbits have their paths. 
Lacking skill at following a trail, and the speed and tireless 
perseverance which make foxes and weasels such _ successful 
hunters, they catch most of their game by lying hidden in am- 
bush and springing out suddenly on whatever small game comes 
within reach. 
They also go still-hunting after the manner of cats gen- 
erally, trusting to luck that they may come unexpectedly upon 
some little beast or bird busy about its own affairs. 
When the wild cat hears the faintest movement in the 
underbrush he instantly crouches with all four feet beneath him, 
284 
