How often are any of us able to see wild animals out in the wild? In a recent outing to Tres Rios on October 22, 2009, led by Marshall Esty of Birders’ Anonymous, Vera Markham photographed these pictures taken of a bobcat on the road just after entering Tres Rios.

 

Description:  Bobcats are usually light brown with black markings, but the pattern can vary. The underside of the body is white with black markings. The tail has a white tip.

 

Habitat/Range:   These cats roam southern Canada, United States except the prairie and parts of Mexico. Their habit is varied, but most frequently found in forests.

 

Behavior:  This is a solitary animal that lives in a well-marked territory and doesn’t usually go outside its area. They live in burrows or dens and the female usually has 2-4 in its litter. The females only reproduce every two years.

 

Diet:   They feed mainly on cotton-tail rabbits or rodents, but can take on prey eight times their own weight like  a deer or sheep.

 

Interesting Facts: 

They evolved about 20,000 years ago from the Eurasian Lynx. They are amongst the most successful predators in North American. They are twice as large as the domesticated cat.