Bobcats in Connecticut

When active Bobcats are crepuscular, mostly active in twilight, just after dusk and before dawn. Secretive, solitary, and seldom observed, they tend to hunt and travel in areas of thick cover, relying on their keen eyesight and hearing for locating prey. Bobcats are patient hunters, meaning they spend much of their time either sitting or crouching, watching and listening. Once prey is located, a bobcat will stalk within range and ambush its quarry. Bobcats do not hibernate and throughout the colder months will often adjust their sleep regimen so that they can spend more time tracking down prey in broad daylight.

LEGALLY PROTECTED

Since the 1800s, the continued deforestation and unregulated hunting of bobcats over the years led to a dramatic reduction in the bobcat population in CT. It got to the point where bobcats were facing local extinction until 1972 when unregulated exploitation was halted, and the bobcat was reclassified as a protected furbearer with no legal hunting or trapping seasons. The bobcat population has since been recovering due to improving forest habitat conditions and legal protections.

FUN FACTS

Habitats: Bobcats are extremely adaptable and can be found in habitats ranging from scrub and brushy lowlands to wetlands, rocky woodlands broken by fields, old roads, and farmland as well as in small towns and even cities where squirrels and rabbits are plentiful.

Range: Bobcats are solitary hunters and, although estimates vary widely, they can lay claim to a territory ranging from one to ten square miles for females and fifteen to thirty-five for males. Daily movements of one to seven miles are common. Bobcats mark their territory with feces, urine, and clawing marks left on prominent trees. They range throughout North America, from southern Canada to Mexico.

Lifespan: Typically, bobcats live for about seven years, rarely exceeding ten to fourteen. The oldest known wild bobcat lived for sixteen years. The oldest known bobcat in captivity lived to be thirty-two.

Mates: Bobcats have more than one mate. They do not form lasting pair bonds. The mating season in CT begins around February and continues into May.

Dens: Bobcats often build several dens in their territories in caves, rock crevices, ledges, hollow logs or trees. Females often have one main den lined with leaves and grasses for raising kittens and several auxiliary dens for resting. Bobcat dens may be reused for multiple seasons.

Predators. The main causes of death for adult bobcats are accidents, collisions with cars, diseases, illegal hunting and starvation. Adult bobcats have few predators, although young bobcats and kittens, are frequently preyed on by bears, coyotes, foxes, owls and, sometimes, adult male bobcats.

Caching. Bobcats cache leftovers of their larger prey by burying them under leaves, dirt, grass or snow, returning later to finish them off.

Vocalizations. Although usually silent, bobcats have been known to make about twelve different sounds. Probably the most distinctive is caterwauling, one of a range of meows that bobcats make, which is a loud, long distance call often made when mating. Caterwauls can be heard up to a mile away. Other sounds include chattering, growling, gurgling, hissing, purring, snarling, snorting, spitting, yowling, squalling (in a way that sounds like a baby crying) and screaming that can sound to some like a woman screaming. See Bobcat Sounds (posted by Michael Broad, May 5, 2019) to hear some bobcat sounds.

Running and Pouncing. Bobcats can run up to thirty miles per hour in short bursts, but don’t do so very often. They prefer to lay in wait, stalking their prey and pouncing when ready, sometimes leaping up to twelve feet in the process.

Climbing. Bobcats are great climbers. They climb in search of prey, such as nesting birds or small, unsuspecting deer who they drop down on from above. From time to time, they also climb to find a safe place to take a nap or to escape a pesky dog.

Swimming. Bobcats can swim, but only tend to so do when necessary.

Weight Variation: Adult male bobcats weigh about twenty-one pounds on average but can range from fourteen to forty. Females weigh about fifteen pounds on average but can range from nine to thirty-four. The largest bobcat on record weighed forty-nine pounds, although there have been reports of them weighing up to sixty pounds.

Related Species and Evolution. Bobcats are closely related to the somewhat larger Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis). It’s believed that the bobcat evolved from the Eurasian Lynx, which crossed from Asia into North America about 2.6 million years ago, moved into the region now known as the United States, and eventually developed into modern bobcats about 20,000 years ago. A second wave of Eurasian lynx, believed to have arrived later, settled in Canada and developed into the modern Canada lynx.

Tracks. Because they have retractable claws, bobcat tracks show four round toe pads in both front and rear prints without claw marks and tend to range in size from two to three inches. When walking or trotting, the tracks are spaced roughly eight to eighteen inches apart. The bobcat track pattern, like many cats, shows an overstep walk. The hind prints overlap almost directly with the fore prints in the tracks. Bobcats can leave widely spaced prints of four to eight feet when running.

For More Information

Bobcats in Connecticut? Yes, They’re Everywhere by David Holahan, Hartford Courant, March 15, 2019.

Connecticut’s Bobcat Population Flourishing, NBC Connecticut, December 23, 2019.

DEEP (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection):

• BOBCAT INFORMATION
• BOBCAT WEBINAR.
• MAP OF BOBCAT SIGHTINGS in CT.
• You can REPORT YOUR BOBCAT SIGHTINGS TO DEEP

Following Decades Of Conservation Efforts, Bobcat Populations Are Returning To New England, by Patrick Skahill, Connecticut Public Radio, February 5, 2019.