Bobcat

Bobcats, which are related to the lynx, received their popular name because of their short tails, which are black-tipped and white on the underside. They have long, stout legs with very large padded feet and black bars on their forelegs. Their dense, soft and long hair can be various shades of brown with black spots, though it may be more grayish in winter and more reddish in summer (accounting for the Latin term rufus in their scientific name). Both melanistic (black) and albino cats have been reported. They have a striped ruff of fur on their cheeks. Their ears are large and tipped with tiny tufts. Their hearing is excellent. Their eyes are yellow and their eyesight is excellent; their pinkish-red noses provide a good sense of smell. These mainly solitary cats are mostly silent, except during the mating season when they yowl, meow and hiss. However, they have also been heard to make low growls, high-pitched screams and purring sounds. Bobcats are basically terrestrial, although they are also good climbers. They can swim but prefer to avoid water. They are primarily crepuscular, becoming more active at dusk and dawn.Bobcats are said to be strict meat-eaters, although grass and vegetation have been found in their fecal matter. They wait for or stalk their prey, pouncing as far as 10 feet to capture an animal; they rarely chase prey. Bobcats kill smaller prey with a bite to the neck; they may kill deer with several bites to the throat. They mostly hunt mice, voles, rats, woodchucks, rabbits, possums, skunks, raccoons, moles, squirrels, beavers, birds, white-tailed deer and sometimes reptiles. They will also sometimes eat small domesticated animals (housecats, small dogs, sheep and goats and poultry); and occasionally they will eat carrion.