120 



Anne M. King, et al. 



achs may have been the result of food provided by the aduh female, or 

 evidence of feeding on carrion. 



A greater variety of food items was eaten by kittens than by adults. 

 For example, kitten stomachs represented 28% of the total sample, but 

 accounted for 71% of the occurrences of Peromyscus spp. and 57% of 

 the voles. Fritts and Sealander (1978) also reported a greater use of 

 cricetid rodents by kittens than by adults. 



Although prey species in the cotton rat-rabbit size range (0.1-2.0 

 kg) were major components in the diet of all bobcat sex and age classes, 

 some differential selection was evident. Kittens and adult females were 

 the principal consumers of the smallest prey (<0. 1 kg), while the largest 

 prey species (>2.0 kg) were consumed most frequently by adult males 

 (Fig 3). The greatest occurrence of prey in the 0. 1 - 2.0 kg range may 

 represent a specialization of bobcats for a selected prey size (Miller and 

 Speake 1978). 



o 



3 

 O 

 LU 



q: 



o 

 or 



LU 



40 r 



30 



20 



10 



I ADULT 9 

 I KITTEN 

 ADULT cT 



oL 





0.0 - 0. 1 



0.1-0.4 



0.4-2.0 2.0-16.0 16.0-120.0 



PREY SPECIES WEIGHT CLASSES (kg) 



Fig. 3. Relative percent occurrences of different weight classes of mammalian 

 prey items identified in adult male, adult female, and kitten bobcat stomachs. 

 Species included in the weight (kg) classes are: 0.0-0.1 (mice); 0.1-0.4 (chipmunk, 

 cotton rat, woodrat, and Norway rat); 0.4-2.0 (squirrel, rabbit, muskrat); 2.0- 

 16.0 (opossum, raccoon); and 16.0-120.0 (deer). 



