Bobcat (Lynx rufus) photo: J.Masson
My neighbor called today to let me know that our resident bear has returned from hibernation, larger than ever, visiting their compost pile and bird feeders last night. As they usually get the first visit, it’s nice of them to give me a heads-up to protect my own feeders. Their yard is very popular with wildlife and they get many more visitors than we do, perhaps because we have a dog or that their smorgasbord of feeders is enough for one-stop dining.
In conversing, I learned that the handsome bobcat I posted about the other day has been hunting squirrels off their feeders all winter. They kindly shared the above photo of this beautiful visitor calmly sitting on their deck! Check out that face and those huge paws!
According to this website, which was filled with a lot of information about the species, bobcat diet consists of 75-90% rabbits, followed by smaller rodents like squirrels. In winter, when their primary food can become scarce, bobcats have been known to kill adult deer, revealing their power and hunting skill.
Males are larger than females by a third (average range is 15 to 35 pounds), so it is hard to determine sex without closer inspection (not likely). Breeding season is late winter with 1-4 kits being born two months later. It is possible that this is the female I saw at our river two summers ago with a little fuzzball of a kit by her side. If she is pregnant or nursing, that could account for why she is being seen more often, needing to increase her calorie consumption. One can only speculate.
Bobcats rarely interact with humans, secretively traveling out of sight around the hours of dawn and dusk. Their contribution to the keeping rodent populations in check is helpful in balancing ecosystems. Conservation, decline of hunting/trapping and regrowth of the forest in our area has contributed to a rebounding of their population. Good news all around!
Eliza Waters 
Nice post and amazing photo.
Thanks, Nicci, good to hear from you!
Amazing!
Such a thrill to know this is one of my animal neighbors!
Fascinating Eliza!
I totally agree! Thanks, Maria.
Indeed a gorgeous fellow (or lady). However, the fact that your resident is being seen often makes me a little nervous for him/her. As your research shows, they should be secretive & wary. People & their cars & guns can harm a creature who has lost that careful wariness. It is lovely to have these sightings though.
True… let’s hope he/she is only seen by good friends. 🙂
Yes.
Wow! Great shot !
Thanks, Victor, I’ll let my neighbor know. 🙂
Wowzers – this is a fantastic shot!
I hope they don’t hunt dogs or cats :(.
In any case, a gorgeous animal.
The coyotes and fisher cats are more worrisome in that department. Another reason I keep my kitties inside. 🙂
I’d love to share some squirrels and rabbits with your beautiful lynx. Not to mention some voles…
Garden lover embracing the circle of life! 😉
The lynx has to eat too. 😉
So close …. and such a lovely photo to share! 🙂
Amazing, that confidence, no? Thanks for your comment, Val!
A very assured cat indeed!
Wow – what a beautiful creature!
Yes, I couldn’t agree more! Thanks, Fi!
Today, being ‘Earth Day’ it’s good to read that it’s a species on the rebound! I rejoice in your sightings and reading accounts of flourishing ecosystems.
Thanks, it is good news for Earth Day. We seem to be one of the few places on the planet where wildlife is abundant amidst human habitation. Reforestation accounts for most of it, I’d say.
He is such a handsome creature!
Agreed! Thanks! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your visitors with your readers. I will probably never have the opportunity to see a bob cat in the wild, but your post has been thoroughly enjoyed. What a handsome creature. and how lucky are you to have him/her visit.
Thanks, Maureen, I do feel lucky. My neighbors have lived there for almost 40 years and they said in the past few years the wild life sightings have increased dramatically. I think that is good news!
I can’t believe you have bears and bobcats visiting you! Amazing! 🙂
We do have lots of wildlife around here for sure! Some day maybe I’ll write a list of all the mammals I’ve seen, it would be interesting to see how many there are. With birds, too, there must be over a hundred. I love living here!
Wow, what great neighbors you have! Fuzzy ones, too. Amazing a bobcat can take down a deer! Do you use feeders with the bear around? I remember (again, in ME) the raccoons would wreak havoc on mine so every night I would put them in the shed and then every morning I would put them back up until the rascals forgot about my route. Would that work with bears?
I’m told bears have long memories and remember feeder locations from year to year. We’ve done the dawn to dusk, in/out routine in the past, but this year we’re stopping for the season. Where we live is rural, so there is lots of wild food.
I’m amazed that the bobcat comes right up to their house! I wonder if people will start seeing more of them as their population rebounds.
It is unusual behavior, but with the buffet of birds and squirrels at their feeders, and no threat from the house, perhaps he isn’t fearful. I’m told he moves like a lightning flash, so in 2 seconds he would be gone into the woods.
That’s probably good – I would worry that if he got too comfortable with people, he might be in danger (even unintentional danger, like getting hit by a car). Still, so exciting to get to see him, even quickly!
From my reading, they say if they make it through their first year (mortality is high), they learn all they need to survive. Living here, human activity must be part of their ‘education.’ Luckily, road traffic isn’t heavy, so hopefully, the odds are in his favor.
Really neat! lol-he looks like my house cat on steroids:-) Just had to say that, but so true:-)Beautiful creature!
Agreed…that’s one big house kitty! As big as my dog. 😉
LOL:-)
Wow! What an interesting visitor to keep you on your toes! 🙂
I know, I’m glad he is shy and not like the larger cats – that would be a different story to tell!
Yes I imagine!!
But that blog post would definitely be a hit, ha! 😉
I learn so much from your blog posts. 🙂
Thanks for sharing that – good to hear!
I sure could use a bobcat here, Eliza. Since I pulled in my hunter cat last year into the house permanently, the rabbit population is boggling my mind. I had no idea my Cookie did such a great job at keeping those rabbits under control. Now I am having a heck of a time keeping my Tulips safe as they are growing.
What a picture! That cat is gorgeous and I am seriously surprised he is just calmly sitting on your neighbor’s deck. Wow!! Thanks for sharing. We don’t have bobcats around here and to see one like this one, is a treat for me. Love, Amy ❤
Yes, he was a special visitor, for sure. They really do a great service in keeping rodent populations in check. Voles still are a problem here… spring always reveals the damage they’ve wrought over winter (grrr!) under the snow. Since I started keeping my cats indoors as well, they’ve been having a field day out there. Sigh, oh well! Thanks for your visit, Amy!
*sighs* with you. I know all about voles. And you are very welcome. Even though I am not officially blogging, tonight I just went to a few friend’s blogs and OH how it felt so good! You have a wonderful weeken, Eliza. I will do the same. 💞
Blessings!
How exciting it must have been to spot this beautiful creature! Keep your camera handy Eliza!
My neighbor told us that a few days ago this fellow hung out on their deck ALL day, virtually tame. Unbelievable! Wish I could have snuck in there with my camera! Apparently, it did not come away with a meal as they have stopped feeding the birds/squirrels because of the very large bear that also visits at night. Their yard is like a wilderness park!
How amazing. I’ve read about bobcats but never seen a photograph outside of nature journals and documentaries. What a creature!
He/she is about the size of our dog, although I don’t worry about them going after domestics. They really prefer rodents, thankfully. Pretty kitty! 😉
The bobcat is a beautiful creature. It’s bigger than I thought it was, too. A bobcat would grow fat and sassy on rabbits around here. 🙂
Yes, indeed!
He is beautiful!
Agreed – I hope he/she has many babies!
Wow always been fascinated by bears, lol don’t see many in the UK, I have a friend who is from liverpool (just a short ferry ride from us) who tells a fantastic story about bears and his first encounter with one on his first visit to his Canadian wife’s family, I really need to record him or video him telling the story, he is a fabulous story teller like a larger than life Ringo Starr, actually thinking about it he is a bit like a scouse bear, love the Bobcat don’t think our little dog would be impressed if that visited our garden 🙂
As wildlife increasingly returns to our area, there are more encounters, most of which are pleasant. Ruining our favorite feeders isn’t one of them! 😉
I have seen a bobcat exactly once in my entire life. What a thrill!
It is thrilling – I hope this was the female I saw a couple years ago and she is pregnant, making her so hungry that she’ll risk being seen at close range. It is a very safe yard for her. I just hope she stays away from the neighbor’s chickens – those yards are NOT safe!
Very good news, and how exciting to have a sighting! I know they are here but I’ve never seen one. Thanks for this great post 🙂
Thank you, Melissa. According to my neighbor, this one is quite relaxed in their yard. A couple weeks ago, they invited me up when it was sitting outside their woodpile waiting for a red squirrel that lives there. I was a mere 10 feet away (inside the house, it’s not THAT tame). I plan to do another post with the shots I took.
Reblogged this on LIVING THE DREAM.
Thank you for reblogging, China!