Bobcat
The bobcat, lynx rufus, is slightly larger than the average domestic house cat, slightly smaller than the lynx and much smaller than the mountain lion and of the three wildcats, the bobcat is the most widely spread. The bobcat occurs in all the 48 contiguous states, southern Canada and parts of Mexico and occupy a variety of habitat from low desert to high elevation forests. Bobcat coloration varies by region from light gray to reddish brown. The coat is streaked and dotted with black and it makes for one of the most beautiful furs of all predators in North America.
Bobcats are very wary animals and most humans have never seen one in the wild, partly because they are mostly nocturnal. They have retractable claws like most cats and have very powerful legs, which is why they are equally at home on the ground in rocky terrain as well as in the trees. Prey animals include but are not limited to rabbits, ground squirrels, gophers, mice, birds, lizards and snakes, but occasionally the bobcat has been known to take deer and antelope fawns and will also eat carrion. Bobcats produce their young in early spring, producing from two to four kittens per litter. The bobcat has few natural predators and adult mortality is very low in unexploited populations, however, they are susceptible to numerous diseases such as rabies and sometimes succumb to injuries inflicted by their struggling or escaping prey. While they are solitary animals, the bobcat may range an area up to 80 square miles or an area that is less than one square mile, depending upon food availability.
The bobcat is one of the most challenging animals we as predator hunters face, partly because of their nocturnal habits, but mainly because they are such slow and deliberate hunters. Most predator hunters break their stands far too soon to be effective for bobcats. Most the time it takes a bobcat 30 to 45 minutes to respond to a call, and by then most predator callers are long gone. With most stands averaging 10 to 20 minutes, you will need to extend the time on a stand if you want to score with a bobcat. Even when a bobcat does respond to a call, many hunters don't see them because they are masters of camouflage and will sit motionless watching in the direction of the call, waiting for the opportunity to attack the wounded animal. Since bobcats mainly hunt by sight and not smell like coyotes, they will sit patiently, well hidden, trying to figure out what is making the noise, where a coyote would try to circle down wind to pick up the scent of the animal. As a result, many predator callers probably have had a bobcat respond to their distress calls, but either from lack of patience or their inability to spot the animal hiding in the shadows watching them, they probably never knew it.
