Bobcat sighting

The California Bobcat (Lynx rufus californicus Mearns) is a beautiful wild cat with a short tail and tufted ears. And they’re usually secretive - in 20 years of visits to Topanga State Park, I’ve seen a bobcat twice. We spotted this one dozing in the crotch of a tree at Trippet Ranch this morning.

The word Lynx comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'light, brightness' and suggests that these cats are particularly sharp-eyed. There are just 4 species of Lynx in the world, and 12 sub-species of Bobcat. The sub-species living in the Santa Monicas and shown here, is called rufus, a Latin word for the color red.

Bobcats are mostly tan to grayish brown with black streaks, and dark bars on their forelegs and tails, and buff on their chins and bellies. You can see in the photo how well all this camouflage works. Distinctively, the ears are black-tipped and pointed with short black tufts, and the tail is noticeably short.

Adult bobcats are about twice the size of a house cat, the males about a third heavier than the females. They are muscular with longer hind legs, so are excellent sprinters and climbers. They have sharp hearing and eyesight, and a good sense of smell.

Adults establish a home range with regular resting and hunting sites, and travel corridors. They mark this territory with scats, urine and their anal glands. And they often scrape to cover their scats. The territory must have an abundance of prey, and plenty of opportunities for camouflage so the bobcat can disappear against the surroundings. They need den and shelter sites, so the territory includes rock piles, ledges, caves, underbrush, hollow trees and the like - a mosaic of different rock features, plant communities and seral stages. A homogenous landscape is not a good habitat for this animal.

Bobcats are opportunistic, and they’ll eat insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, small rodents, even deer. Locally they seem to prefer the brush rabbits, ground squirrels and wood rats. The bobcat in our photos had a good view of some very active ground squirrel dens, and we frequently heard the squirrel’s sharp alarm call.

Bobcats are solitary hunters who stalk or wait in ambush for their prey (like our friend here), preferring to pounce or give chase for short distances. Bobcats usually drag their prey to a hidden sight to feed and cache larger prey. They can go long periods without food, so they’ll feed heavily when prey is abundant. They are generally active at dawn and dusk, becoming more nocturnal when it’s hot. Recently we’ve had cooler nights, and this fellow seemed to be enjoying the morning sun on his face.

The home ranges of male and female bobcats may overlap, but home ranges of females rarely overlap with each other. These are not social animals, so they must seek each other out to mate. They breed from winter to spring, staying together for several days. A litter of 2 or 3 is born after 63 days. The kittens will stay with the mother until about a year old.
Though bobcats have no significant predators other than humans, they do not have easy lives. Coyotes and mountain lions occasionally kill them, and the kittens may be hunted by owls, foxes, and even male bobcats. Some young die after leaving their mothers and before they become experienced hunters. Perhaps 70% die the first year. Many bobcats will live to six or eight years of age, and a few exceed ten. Parasites and diseases probably kill more than the other major causes - starvation, accidents, and predation.

To be honest, when we first saw this bobcat, we walked up behind him. From the backside we couldn't tell what he was, especially since his tail was tucked under. But even when we went around the tree to the front, we thought maybe he was a mountain lion - he was so big. But when he jumped down, that "bobbed" tail gave him away. Lorraine W and I share the picture credits. Thanks Lorraine.