Bobcat

Nature Log

Occasionally, people will see a large, short-tailed "wild cat" in or near New York's forests and wonder whether it's a bobcat or a lynx. Almost always, it's a bobcat.

The bobcat is found in much of New York State, except on Long Island and parts of central and western New York. It prefers forests, small wooded swamps and rocky outcrops. The lynx, although historically reported in the Adirondack region, is currently considered extirpated from New York. A recent study by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry suggests that at this time there is no suitable lynx habitat in the state.

Many sightings of "wild cats" in New York occur near roads. This is because, like many house cats, both lynx and bobcats will single-mindedly focus on catching their prey, and so may blindly race across a road. While similar in weight, with adult male bobcats averaging about 28 pounds and lynx slightly less, the lynx is taller and rangier than the bobcat. Lynx can measure up to 30 inches tall at the shoulder, while bobcats reach 22 inches. Females and kittens are usually much smaller in size. Lynx have black-tipped tails and inch-long ear tassels; bobcats have black-spotted tails with a white-tip, and short ear tassels. Bobcats have much smaller feet than lynx-- bobcat tracks are 2-3 times the size of a house cat; lynx tracks are twice as big as the bobcat. During winter, bobcats prefer to keep out of deep snows and so often travel along rock ledges and on fallen trees and logs. The huge, snowshoe-like paws of lynx, however, enable them to readily travel on most snow surfaces.

Bobcats eat a variety of animals, including mice and voles, squirrels, rabbits and deer. Diet of bobcats varies seasonally and between populations. Lynx prefer a diet of snowshoe hare. The only wild cat known to reproduce in New York, bobcats give birth to two to three kittens in the spring. Bobcats can be hunted and trapped by licensed sportsmen during the fur harvest season, but the lynx is completely protected year around.