My experience with the bobcat is much like what I have of the mountain lion. It is not a common animal here in Central Texas and is elusive, not commonly seen by the average person. Counting the number of times seen in the wilds is low, perhaps only two or three times in the last thirty years. But this is not true in some parts of the USA where the bobcat is more prevalent. To be exact, we have seen two bobcats in the wild and three mountain lions over these many years. All things considered, seeing both cats is a wonderful experience.
The Bobcat is a member of the lynx family. There are four lynx family members around the world and two of them, the Bobcat and the Canadian Lynx are native to North America. The other two are in Europe.
Some might think that the Ocelot, which is a small to medium-sized cat is related to the bobcat, but it is not of the same family. It is a member of the leopard family. This cat lives in Mexico and ventures as far north as the Rio Grande Valley.
My niece, who lives in Colorado, has seen bobcats regularly visiting her backyard, and on one occasion they observed one climbing over a wooden fence with a squirrel that was being invited home for dinner. Bobcats are carnivores, and probably would eat fish, but since they are not fond of water, fish are rarely consumed.
Below is a video of a pair of bobcats in their backyard, one of them (the male it appears to be) sitting on the railing of the fence around the patio. Both appear to be at ease in this environment.
Bobcats in Colorado (by Lisa Maloney)
Notice the tail markings on these two bobcats because it is the most rapid way to distinguish a bobcat from a lynx. The bobcat has some markings on the short tail and the tip is not fully black, whereas the lynx has no black markings on the tail and the tip is solidly black. There are other differences between these two fine animals, but this is the quick way to distinguish one from the other and when you see one next time you may not have a lot of time to study it.
Cats are notorious for having a peaked tuft of hair on the tips of their ears and the lynx has more of a pronounced tuft than the bobcat. Both have a more pronounced tuft than a housecat.
All of the excitement of seeing this video made me ask why we in central Texas see very few bobcats and when we do, they are very elusive, not like this pair in Colorado.
One observation is that we do not have the food they prefer in any abundance. There are not many squirrels, not many mice (lately), and the last time we observed a cotton-tail rabbit was about 5 years ago. With regard to food, the Colorado location is favored.
And then there is the question of predators. I have no data to apply to this question, but I can imagine that man and coyotes are the two main predators and here, central Texas and Colorado are probably equal. However, bobcats seem to be invading suburban areas just as the whitetail deer have done and, in that case, predators are not a problem for the bobcat.
Last is the question of habitat. Bobcats are not common in areas of open terrain as they need the cover of woods and brush; cornfields do not offer much of that, so one would not see many bobcats in the plains states.
Once again, this difference in observed bobcat behavior illustrates the point that most wild animals can be made tame by providing the habitat they like without the fear of being annihilated.
