WILDCAT 99 



California Wildcat. Lynx eremicus californicus Mearns 



Field characters. — Appearance unique among our wild mammals; size much larger 

 than that of domestic cat; legs longer, but tail much shorter. Head and body 19% 

 to 29 inches (493-735 mm.), tail 4^4 to 6Vi inches (107-160 mm.), ear excluding tuft 

 21^ to 31/2 inches (66-89 mm.), weight 7% to 19 pounds (3.5-8.6 kg.) [some extra- 

 limital specimens included in measurements]. The smaller extreme applies to females, 

 the larger to males. General coloration above, light reddish brown in summer, gray 

 in winter; under surface of body and inner sides of legs white, spotted or barred with 

 black; ears bla«k-tufted, black at end and base, white on middle. Tracks : Bound, about 

 2 inches in diameter; sole pad doubly notched behind, not triangular as in coyote. 



Occurrence. — Common resident on west slope of Sierra jSTevada, chiefly in Upper 

 Sonoran and Transition zones. Recorded from Snelling eastward to Yosemite Valley; 

 altitudinally, ranges to 6500 feet (at head of Nevada Falls). Inhabits brushland, rock 

 slides and timber. Active somewhat by day, as well as at night. Usually solitary. 



The California Wildcat is a common inhabitant of the hill and mountain 

 country immediately to the west of the Yosemite Valley and is also present 

 in some numbers on the floor of the Valley itself. It is by no means as 

 reclusive an animal as is the Mountain Lion, and is abroad to a considerable 

 extent during the daytime, so that visitors to the region are likely to catch 

 sight of it. The name "bob-cat" is often applied to this species because 

 of its short or bobbed tail, this member being only about one-fourth the 

 length of the head and bodj-. Trappers often refer to large individuals 

 as "lynx-cats," believing that they constitute a species distinct from the 

 ordinary bob-cat or -svildcat, as "granite bucks" are sometimes compared 

 with ordinars^ deer ; but there is only one species of wildcat known in 

 the region. 



The 'pencil' or tuft of black hairs on the ear, often supposed to be 

 diagnostic of a true (Canada) lynx, is just as regularly present in our 

 wildcat. The coloration of the latter, both as to tone of color and boldness 

 of the black markings, is variable, and, although it has only one molt 

 (this in late summer and fall), its pelage shows considerable seasonal 

 change. In fall and winter the coat is distinctly gray in cast, but with 

 the wearing off of the ends of the over-hairs at the advent of summer, the 

 underlying color, a light reddish brown, comes into view. 



In Yosemite Valley, and on the trails leading out of the Valley, the 

 tracks of wildcats can often be seen after the snow comes. In December, 

 1914, we saw numerous tracks on the Yosemite Falls trail, some of which 

 were well above Columbia Point while others led down close to the buildings 

 in the old Presidio. Likewise on the Nevada Falls trail that same season, 

 bob-cat tracks were common in the snow, even to the top of the zig-zags. 

 This fact suggested that the cats were using the man-made trail as a pass 

 between Yosemite and Little Yosemite valleys. During the summer the 



