Scientific Paper

Bobcat: Lynx Rufus
The Bobcat is in the Animalia Kingdom and belongs to the Felidae family (Feldhamer, Thompson, and Chapman 2003). It belongs to the Lynx Genus and the Rufus species. This represents the cat family and the Bobcat is a carnivore that needs meat to survive. They are about twice the size of a domestic cat, usually have brown fur with a white underside and some bobcats have brownish red fur, their ears are small and pointy with a black tip, and their tail is short with a black tip. In the winter their fur usually changes to a greyish white (Newbury and Hodges 2019). The bobcat has actually acquired its name from its “bobbed” or cut tail. They are native to most of North America, parts of southern Canada and northern Mexico. Being able to successfully adapt in many different regions such as forests, deserts, swamps, and mountainous has allowed bobcats to be very populated. There may be as many as one million bobcats across North America. Their population is very stable and is the least concern for them. Bobcats should be concerned about humans. Bobcats are known for being hunted and trapped for their soft fur. They also threaten many farmers and are sometimes killed by them because they are seen as a threat to sheep and pigs.
Within their ecosystem Bobcats are a top predator and are considered a keystone species. Without their presence as a secondary consumer in their ecosystems the food web would become inconsistent because the balance of populations would be significantly affected. Bobcats can become prey to eagles, coyotes, foxes, bears, great horned owls, and adult male bobcats. Bobcats are very stealthy and are excellent hunters which usually come out to hunt during dusk and dawn because they are nocturnal (Durfey and MacDuff 2013). They tend to feed mainly on rabbits but can take down prey bigger than themselves such as adult deer, sheep, and pigs (National Geographic: Bobcats 2017). They also eat birds and bats because they have the ability to jump 10ft. When in their habitat they usually have one main den that could be a cave, a hollow log, or a rock shelter (Defenders of WIldlife 2019). They also usually have 6 or 7 other dens in their territory, those are usually rock ledges or tree stumps. Both female and male bobcats usually mark their territory with scents or by clawing trees. Males have a territory of about 25-30 square miles that can overlap with other males and females have territories around 5 square miles that typically never overlap. Once a bobcat has identified its territory they will reproduce through sexual reproduction. Males will usually find several females to mate with. The female bobcats usually give birth to a possibility of one to six kittens. Once the kittens are 8-11 months old and know how to hunt the mother will remove them from her territory. Even with their enormous population humans rarely come into contact with Bobcats because they are well adapted to disguise themselves.

Works Cited
Defenders of WIldlife. 2019. Washington (DC). https://defenders.org/bobcat/bobcats
The website consists of a .org meaning that it was published by an organization.
Durfey L, MacDuff A. 2013. Meet The Bobcat. New York State Conservationist 68:18-21.
Lance Durfey is the regional wildlife manager in DEC’s Ray Brook office, and Andrew MacDuff is a wildlife biologist in DEC’s Watertown office.
Feldhamer GA, Thompson BC, Chapman JA. 2003. Wild Mammals of North America. Baltimore (MD): The Johns Hopkins University Press. Chapter 38, Bobcat and Lynx; p.758-780.
This book was the winner of the 1984 Wildlife Publications Award from the Wildlife Society.
ITIS Integrated Taxonomic Information System [Internet]. Reston, VA. [updated 2015 Jan 5. cited 2019 Apr 4. Available from: http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180582
National Geographic: Bobcats. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/b/bobcat/
This source is well known throughout the nation and is respectable.
Newbury RK, Hodges KE. 2019. A Winter Energetics Model For Bobcats in a Deep Snow Environment. Journal of Thermal Biology 80:56-63.
Dr. Roberta Newbury is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Providence. Dr. Karen Hodges is a Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.