geographic subspecies of bobcat. Two 

 live in North Carolina: the eastern 

 bobcat (Lynx nifus rufus ) in western 

 and central parts of the state and the 

 Florida bobcat [Lynx rufus floridanus) 

 in the eastern areas. According to 

 Sumner, the subspecies are so close in 

 appearance that they are almost 

 indistinguishable. 



The bobcat's coat varies from 

 light buff to reddish brown, but all the 

 animals are marked by spots and bars 

 in black or dark brown. Their faces 

 bear black and white markings and are 

 rimmed by a ruff of fur on the sides. 

 Bobcats' tails are white underneath 

 and tipped in black, and the backs of 

 their ears are black with white 

 splotches. The bobcat's northern 

 cousin, the lynx, has a plainer coat, 

 denser fur and a body built for chasing 

 hares across snow-blanketed fields: 

 shorter tail, longer legs, bigger feet 

 and furrier foot pads. 



Ear tufts are another of the lynx 

 and bobcat's distinguishing features. 

 Though not as long and bushy in the 

 bobcat, the tufts still serve the same 

 purpose: They pick up vibrations and 

 help the cat locate its prey. Acute 

 hearing along with keen vision — 

 some folks say a bobcat can see a 

 mouse 1 00 feet away — arm the cat 

 well for its nightly hunts. 



All of those features combine to 

 create an efficient stalker and pouncer. 

 Under cover of darkness and hidden 

 by camouflage, the patient bobcat lies 

 in wait for or creeps silently through 



underbrush after unsuspecting prey. 

 Once it detects dinner nearby, the 

 stealthy cat attacks with front legs and 

 paws stretched out and claws extended 

 to seize its meal. Though bobcats can 

 run close to 15 mph to chase prey, 

 they generally wait until the animal 

 comes within striking distance — up 

 to 12 feet — to pounce. 



If human and bobcat do tussle, 



the human is at a distinct 

 disadvantage. The compact and 

 muscular "wildcat" is the stuff 

 of Wild West legends: a ferocious 

 fighter that can fend off 

 a whole pack of hunting dogs. 



This hunting technique is particu- 

 larly well suited for taking a variety 

 of small animals such as mice, rats, 

 gophers, shrews, voles, squirrels, 

 ground birds and the bobcat's favorite: 

 rabbits. However, the cats will take 

 whatever is abundant and have been 

 known to eat porcupines, beaver, 

 opossum, turkey and even adult deer. 



The cat's predation on rodents 

 actually benefits humans by keeping 

 populations of the pesky critters in 

 check. Though bobcats do take some 

 game animals, the overall impact is 

 minimal and no threat to hunters' 

 sport. Ranchers need not worry either; 

 the cats rarely take domestic livestock. 

 Once much maligned as a pest, the 

 bobcat carried a bounty of $10 a head; 

 it was abolished in 1968. 



Bobcats breed in late February or 

 March, and the kittens are born in April 

 or May. Like those of house cats, litters 

 range from as few as one to as many as 

 five kittens, which are weaned in about 

 two months. They begin hunting with 

 their mother at 3 to 5 months. 



After this early dependency, 

 bobcats will live a mostly solitary life 

 for their 12 to 15 years. They spend 

 their days in hidden dens and then roam 

 up to five miles every night in search of 

 food. Except in rare cases, the only 

 time adults tolerate each other is when 

 mating. 



The size of a bobcat's territory will 

 vary in different seasons, depending on 

 abundance of prey. If prey populations 

 crash, however, the bobcat is not averse 

 to picking up stakes and moving to new 

 terrain. Males have larger home ranges, 

 often overlapping those of several 

 females to ensure exclusive access to 

 these females and thus mating success. 



An intruder will receive fair 

 warning of a cat's territory. Bobcats 

 deposit urine, feces and anal gland 

 secretions, and scrape deep marks in 

 the ground on trails to define their 

 areas. If intruders ignore these signs, 

 they will encounter an extremely 

 aggressive opponent who uses a variety 

 of body postures, facial expressions and 

 vocalizations to give further warning. 

 Like all small cats, bobcats lack the 

 necessary vocal apparatus to roar, but 

 they can hiss, spit, growl, scream and 

 caterwaul. And when not feeling 

 threatened, they can even purr. □ 



Carolina Cougars? 



Over the past several years, 

 several Coastwatch readers in the 

 Coastal Plain have called us to ask 

 for information about the Carolina 

 cougar and to report having spotted 

 one. But according to Perry 

 Sumner, what these folks have seen 

 are probably captive big cats that 



have escaped or been turned loose. 



At one time, the cougar — also 

 called panther or mountain lion — did 

 roam North Carolina from mountains 

 to coast as part of its extensive range. 

 Once common across the United 

 States, cougars now inhabit the western 

 states with isolated populations in a 



few other areas, including Florida. 



Rumors about Carolina cougars 

 still crop up now and then, but 

 wildlife officials have long believed 

 the species extirpated from the state. 

 The last valid reports of cougars 

 killed in North Carolina date to the 

 1880s. □ — Daun Daemon 



COASTWATCH 21 



