Bobcat     Lynx Rufus

These cats, which may only be slightly larger than a house cat, are solitary and nocturnal.  They hunt normally at dusk and dawn, and are active year-round. They travel inside their own territory, stopping to investigate signs of prey, listening for sounds and watching for movement.  It will zig-zag from place to place looking for prey, and will move on if nothing is available.  

Bobcats make dens in protected thickets, hollow trees, or rock caves, depending on what their territory offers.  Territories for females may cover 10 square miles, while male territories may cover more than 30 square miles.  Male territories may include several female territories. Territories of both sexes may overlap each other but it rarely causes conflict.  A bobcat seldom tracks its prey, and depends more on its keen eyesight and hearing than its sense of smell.  Its sense of hearing is very sensitive, and its sense of sight is much better than many of its carnivore counterparts.  When it spots a potential meal, it stalks as close as it dares, then pounces on it.  If the prey escapes, a bobcat will not pursue it for more than a few bounds.  To a bobcat, success or failure depends on the initial attack.  Sometimes the bobcat will wait in ambush along the path of a potential prey, and lie motionless on a rock or log for a long period of time.  When its prey comes along the path, the bobcat springs on it.

On the backs of the ears are white spots, which act as part of the bobcat’s own defense against predators.  Since a predator prefers to attack a prey from behind, these “eye spots” confuse and usually deter a potential predator.

Bobcats are capable swimmers, and excellent climbers.  Bobcats take refuge in trees, and Wildlife Prairie State Park’s bobcats spend a majority of their time there.