Ham-Micks

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Thursday Thirteen # 10 - Bobcats










Our good girlfurriend cat Faz from Wimbledon asked to learn more about bobcats. So our TT will be about bobcats.

1. Bobcats are about 2 ft. tall. Males can be about 36 inches long and weigh from 16 to 30 lbs.

2. Their tails are 3 to 7 inches long.

3. Their Latin name is Felis rufus or Lynx rufus. Bobcats are closely related to the lynx; but is half the size of the Canadian lynx. The bobcat can also be distinguished from the lynx by the markings on its tail; whereas the lynx has a black tip to its tail that goes completely around its tail, bobcats have a white underside with the coloration and markings on the top half. Bobcats also lack the hair on the soles of their feet that lynxes have. The tufts on the ends of their ears are also smaller, and their ruff is not as prominent.

4. They can run up to 30 miles per hour and can swim, but don't really like to.

5. They can be a reddish brown to a light grey, with white underside and black spots on the legs, and black markings on the face. They have a ruff on the sides of their head and black tufts on the tips of their ears. Bobcats in the southern parts of the US tend to have more vibrant markings than those further north, and tend to be smaller.

6. They are carnivorous and eat rabbits and hares, but will dine on insects and sick deer. They will cover up leftover deer and keep coming back to it until it is rotten.

7. Gestation is 2 months and kittens stay with their mom for 8 to 11 months, learning how to hunt beginning in their 5th month.

8. Bobcats are solitary, only coming together to mate. Their range can be several square miles, and male ranges tend to overlap several female ranges for mating purposes. The range is dependent on prey and habitat availability.

9. Bobcats have the vomeronasal organ, or Jacobson's organ as other cat species. When they come across an unusual scent, they lift their heads and open their mouth in what looks like a grimace. What is happening is that they are allowing the air to pass over the vomeronasal organ. This organ can detect pheromone molecules which are too large to be detected by nasal passages. This behavior is calling "flehmen".
You've probably seen your own cat do this.

10. Bobcats are most active around dawn and dusk. This is called crepuscular or bimodal.

11. They can live up to 12 years in the wild, but the average is much less.

12. They range from southern Canada to northern Mexico. From the east coast to the west coast. Early settlers pretty much eradicated them from the midwest. They are still heavily hunted for their fur which is exported to China and Russia.

13. Some states have listed the bobcat as endangered or even extinct and are making efforts to bring it back. Bobcat populations depend on habitat and prey availability, so human encroachment into their range depletes their numbers.

Luf, Us


Pee Sss. There might be a PoP Kwiz.






15 comments:

Christine and FAZ said...

Wow, this is fantastic and very interesting. Now I know everything there is to know about Bobby the Bob Cat - I'm studying and studying so I am ready for the Quiz. I always wondered what crepuscular meant and also that bit about vomeronasal organ explains a lot. Thank you bit time. FAZ

Christine and FAZ said...

p.s. I meant to say thank you BIG time not thank you BIT time but I was over excited.

Lux said...

Poor things ... I can run at least 50 miles per hour! :)

Cats~Goats~Quotes said...

That was a lot of things to learn about Bobcats! We wonder if our Meowmie is named after a Bob Cat.
~Gracie of The Bunch

Daisy said...

Bobcats are very impressive! I liked learning about them. Too bad they don't live very long. Sometimes I do the flehmen response when I smell Pixie's behind.

I studied hard so I can do well, in case there is a quiz!

Shaggy and Scout said...

We do that response when we sniff where a poopie butt sat on the floor.
Bobcats is vishus!!!!

LZ said...

Wild cats are very very cool. They do some amazing stuff and are really interesting to learn more about.

Kaze

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

That pixchur of the baby bobcat is sure koot. Boy, I learned a lot about koot bobcats!

Fank yu 40 paws.

~Abby

Zippy, Sadie, Speedy and M'Gee said...

Ooo, bobcats is intristing. We do dat flehmen thing when we sniff each others butts too! We'z gonna study now so we can do good on da possibul test. What mom? Oh, I gess so. Mom sez yoo can lern frum getting da wrong answers too.

Oscar the Puppy Cat said...

My Mommy loves all of the big cats! I am curious though, is a Bobcat a member of the big cat family? That may sound silly but I really am curious. As for if I love the big cats, as long as they don't eat me or beat me up then I love them!

JT said...

Bobcats are so cool! I am ready for the quiz!

I don't think you should doubt the integrity of my tunnel. In the extremely unlikely event of a tornado, it's just as safe in there than anywhere else in the apartment! We have a lot of windows.

Forty Paws said...

Hi Oscar,

Maw had to go diggin to find dis. Dey ist members of the
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Felidae
Genus Lynx
Species Lynx rufus

Big cats and house cats are all members of the Family Felidae. They split off at Genus. All cats are considered the MOST carnivorous of all the animals falling under the Order Carnivora.

Also, this is pretty cool. Straight from Wikipedia: The Bobcat is believed to be evolved from the Eurasian Lynx which crossed into North America by way of the Bering land bridge during the Pleistocene. The first wave moved into the southern portion of North America, which was soon cut off from the north by glaciers. This population evolved into modern Bobcats around 20,000 years ago. A second population arrived from Asia and settled in the north, creating the modern Canadian Lynx.

Luf, Us

Zippy, Sadie, Speedy and M'Gee said...

Well, I asked mom bout haffing delicate curtains and she sed dat dey haf been there for 11 years thru 4 cats and 2 dogs and no one effer messed dem up until me. Gess I'm just more talented den dem others *snicker*~Speedy

Parker said...

Those bobcats are very interesting. Thank-you for telling us more about them!

Zoey and the furballs said...

That was quite fascinating. I didn't know what the flehmen behavior was but I've done it and seen Gus do it too. It's nice to know that.