Do you know the bobcat, a feline with a short tail for its body?
Bobcat is a member of the wildcat family that lives in North America, and its body size is two to three times that of pet cats.
While many animals are worried about extinction, they are also strong animals that are still thought to be increasing their population.
Let’s take a peek into the life of a bobcat in this article to find out what features and secrets it has!
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～ Basic information. ～
Mammalia-Carnivora-Felidae.
Length 65～105cm.
Weight 4.1～15.3Kg.
A bobcat is a species of cat that lives in North America and is about two to three times the size of a domestic cat.
The color of the body is reddish brown or dull brown, and the whole body has a black spot pattern.
The biggest feature is that the tail is short, and its length is usually 20cm or less.It is also characteristic of bobcats that black and short atrial hair grows on the tip of triangular ears, and long cheek hair grows on the cheeks.
The breeding season of bobcats is once a year, and it seems that it often reaches the time of giving birth in the spring.Males reach sexual maturity at 12 to 18 months of age, while females reach sexual maturity at 12 months and are able to reproduce.
Female pregnancies last 60 to 70 days, and one to four babies are born at a time.Bobcat babies are weaned at around 2-3 months of age and become independent at 9-24 months of age.
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Bobcat’s Q&A.
Where does the name bobcat come from?
The name “bobcat” derives from its short tail, and it was named “bobcat” because of the “cat with a bob tail”.
The scientific name of the bobcat is “lynx rufus”, “lynx” means lynx, and “rufus” means reddish.It is also known as the “red Lynx”.
Why do bobcats live there?
Bobcats live in a wide range of North America spanning Canada, the United States and Mexico.
Bobcats are extremely adaptable to the environment and are thought to be able to live in any environment as long as they have a place to hide.
Apparently, you can live not only in forests and grasslands, but also in deserts, semi-deserts, coasts, and wetlands, and you can live in areas where snow falls.
We don’t know exactly why bobcats live in North America.However, considering that North America is inhabited by the same feline puma and Canadian lynx, the United States may have conditions that are suitable for feline animals.
What do bobcats eat?
Bobcats are carnivorous animals that eat and live mainly small animals (such as hares, rats, and squirrels), birds (such as rock_ptarmigans, Wild Turkeys, and quails), and their eggs, fish, frogs, and crayfish.
Bobcats are very good hunters, jumping about 3 meters in a single jump, and sometimes catching animals such as deer and sheep that are much larger than themselves.
Bobcat hunting occurs mainly at night, but some habitats and individuals may hunt day or night.They also hunt primarily on the ground, but sometimes climb trees to catch prey on trees or catch waterfowl on the surface of the water.
The zoo feeds bobcats with horse meat, chicken, liver and chicken.
What kind of personality does a bobcat have?
Bobcat is said to be cautious, vigilant, and sensitive.
As a result, although there are many bobcats living in North America, it seems that it is almost impossible to observe that they are living a normal life, or even to see them.
However, when bobcats feel in danger, they tend to be very fierce when they are hungry.
Why do bobcats have short tails?
Speaking of bobcats, they are characterized by a short tail that is also the origin of the name, but why are their tails short?I looked at various information this time, but unfortunately I didn’t know exactly why bobcat’s tail was short.
The tail of an animal has a role like a human hand, and it is used in various ways such as climbing up and down and balancing when running, wrapping it around the body to warm it when it is cold, wrapping it around branches and hanging it.
For example, the “cheetah” the same feline animal as the bobcat, is used to shake and balance the tail when running at high speed, and the “snow leopard” is used to wrap the tail around the body to protect itself from the freezing cold.
However, the tail of bobcat, the protagonist of this article, is very short and is very unlikely to be used for balance and warmth.
I’d love to see why bobcat’s tail is so short and why.
By the way, “eurasian Lynx”, “spanish Lynx” and “canadian Lynx”, which are the same lynx companions as bobcat, are also not long tails.
From this point of view, it seems that there is a good reason for the lynx to have a shorter tail.Every lynx moves its tail so often that it may be moving its short tail to show its emotions or to tell something to a friend.
Is it true that bobcats are good swimmers?
It’s true.
Bobcats are feline animals, but they can swim well, and in their habitat, they are often seen swimming across the river.If it is not cold, it seems to be willing to go into the water by itself, and it seems that it may enter the river to catch fish such as salmon and catfish, or swim the river and escape when attacked by the enemy.
Can a bobcat attack people?
Because bobcats are alert animals, they rarely attack people on their own.However, for some reason, it seems that there is a case that bobcat who felt that he was in danger caused injury to humans.
It is also known that bobcats infected with rabies indiscriminately attack human and pet animals.
In fact, in 2018, there was a case of sudden attack by wild bobcats in Georgia in the United States and in 2021 in North Carolina, and it was revealed that both bobcats were infected with rabies.
If you encounter a bobcat in the United States and are attacked, suspect rabies and go to the hospital immediately.
Can I keep a bobcat as a pet?
When breeding rare animals at home, it is necessary to follow the established laws in some countries. This time, we will introduce whether you can raise a bobcat at home in Japan.
Bobcats are designated as “Specified Animals” by Japanese law, which may endanger human life and property. Since it has been completely prohibited to keep certain new animals for petting purposes after June 1, 2020, you cannot keep bobcats as pets in Japan.
In the 1800s, there were a lot of people who tried to get a bobcat.
There are records that there are individual differences in the habituation of bobcats, and if you think that there are individuals who are accustomed to people and spoil like a yew cat, there are also individuals who are not accustomed to people at all even if they are captured at about two weeks old.
Is there a place to see a bobcat in Japan?
Bobcats are the only ones bred in Japan at the Kobe City Oji Zoo in Hyogo Prefecture.
It seems to have been bred in “Hirakawa Zoo” of Kagoshima City in Kagoshima Prefecture and “Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Garden” of Aichi Prefecture in the past, but it is not bred now.
What is the lifespan of a bobcat?
The longest life expectancy of a bobcat in the wild is 23 years, but it is usually thought to be about 10 to 12 years.
The longest life expectancy in captivity is 32 years, and it seems to have the quality that can live quite long among feline animals.
What enemies does a bobcat have?
Bobcats’ natural enemies in the wild are said to be carnivores such as pumas, coyotes, wolves, and alligators.It seems that sometimes people are attacked by pet dogs near private houses.
But for bobcats, their biggest enemy is us humans.
Bobcats can attack pets and livestock (dogs, cats, chickens, sheep, etc.) and are sometimes treated as vermin.In addition, the fur of large cats (such as tigers and leopards) is regulated for trade, and bobcat fur, which is not particularly restricted in value, is used all over the world.
Even though this number of bobcats has been captured, it seems that the number of inhabitants in particular has not decreased.There are still more than a million bobcats in the United States alone, and it is believed that the number of bobcats is increasing.
However, no matter how many habitats there are, if they are overfished, the number may gradually decrease.
And like the “passenger pigeon”, which was once said to have 5 billion birds in the United States but was overexploited and then became extinct, there is no zero chance that crossing a certain line will lead to extinction at once.
Bobcat, a tough animal that can live without being destroyed by humans.I hope their prosperity continues.
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今泉 忠明(2004年）『野生ネコの百科』データハウス
ルーク・ハンター,プリシラ・バレット(2018年）『野生ネコの教科書』エクスナレッジ
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