If you're mistaken for a rodent, don't blame your wife.
On a snowy, drifting winter morning two years ago I began sorting lumber for a new project in the workshop attached to our woodland home. As I worked, a series of strange sounds began to emanate from outside the door. Certain that my wife was pulling a prank, I ignored the sounds and continued to organize the boards. The whines and yowls grew louder and more insistent. Finally I stopped and exclaimed, "Alice, stop making weird animal sounds!" The horrible sounds continued. I knew that Alice "on a mission" could be persistent, so I finished sorting lumber and went to the door expecting to see my wife mischievously crouching beside a pine in the falling snow. Instead, I came face to face with a bobcat.
"Wood ghost" is one name accorded the bobcat by early settlers. For years I've had the good fortune to observe them in nearby forests on sunny winter days. Quintessentially feline, they scratch, stretch, walk along the top of fallen logs, crouch, play-pounce and bounce around — for fun — like they have springs in their legs. Last winter I watched one carefully thread its way through the oaks behind the house to investigate our bird feeders. As it crossed a path, I could see its stubby six-inch tail and bobbing gait, offering another possible hint of its name-bobcat. The shy feline eventually blended into the forest.
Bobcats are tough, resilient survivors of the same kind of human persecution that has pushed other North American predators — such as wolves and cougars — toward extinction, or into the few remaining enclaves of wilderness. Not found in Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador, they exist in every other province and also coast to coast across the United States, except for a few states in the mid-west.
Reporting on their size in 1637, Thomas Morton wrote that bobcats were "bigg as a great hound." Hardly! But listening to their hideous caterwauling at night, one could envision monster proportions. Although they occasionally reach weights of up to 70 pounds, large bobcats that I've examined as a biologist weighed in the range of 30 to 40 pounds. Bobcats aren't big; they just act big. Livestock kills do happen, and when such depredation occurs, it's likely to be committed with such a ruckus that the event is well remembered. Bobcat bounties across America used to be as common as the misconceptions about the animal are.
The bobcat is an opportunistic, ambush-and-pounce hunter, concentrating on whatever foods are seasonally abundant and easy to catch. I've personally experienced the bobcat's style of attack. Upon entering an enclosure at a wildlife park years ago, a bobcat charged me, vaulted onto my shoulders and proceeded to grasp my throat in its jaws. As I pondered my folly and possible future, the cat started to purr. To bobcats, exposing your throat to another is a sign of trust.
These cats hunt by sight and sound more than smell, and have perfected the short-distance sprint. Rodents and birds are normal fare; their menu may include insects. They can be ambitious: I've watched a bobcat trail behind a white-tailed deer with a fawn. The doe kept turning, stamping her feet at the cat, and moving on, while the bobcat was just waiting for one unguarded moment. Given the opportunity, bobcats are one of many species — including bald eagles — that will scavenge coyote-killed deer.
With few predators, bobcats are not driven to breed like rabbits, ducks or grouse. The breeding season is in February and March; usually two kittens but as many as four may be born in April or May. Their eyes remain closed for about 10 days. The female keeps them in a den that is often associated with tree roots and rocks. Both parents catch food for the youngsters until fall; then they are left to fend for themselves. When prey is abundant, kitten survival approaches 70 per cent, and second litters sometimes occur later in the year. But food scarcity can mean that no kittens survive. When that happens, territories collapse and adults scatter. Another threat to bobcat populations worldwide is a recently discovered form of canine distemper-hopefully it won't reach local populations.
Normally shy in the wild, bobcats can be ferocious when cornered. One scenario is that a "road-killed bobcat" is placed in a vehicle trunk. A short time later growls begin to emanate from the trunk, along with sounds of ripping upholstery. Carrying a supposedly dead bobcat in a burlap sack over your shoulder has also proven hazardous for at least one Maritime trapper.
Bobcats live in a variety of habitats: swamps, mountains, woods, prairie, desert and farmlands with hedgerows. Typical bobcat terrain includes some brush or woods as cover for resting and raising kittens, and open areas such as meadows for hunting. Historically they were considered elusive wilderness animals, rarely venturing near humans. Yet recent research seems to counter the "wilderness animal" portrayal. Perhaps our burgeoning human populations are forcing closer associations, or redefining habitats. Whatever the cause, healthy bobcat populations are becoming part of the urban fringe across Canada and the United States. Los Angeles hosts bobcats living and raising their young within its city limits, so these adaptable cats probably exist near many doorsteps — and pets — in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Unlike raccoons, which commonly rummage in unprotected garbage cans, bobcats are not bold. These cats might cross a road with little traffic, but balk at busy highways. In some cases, bobcats seem to be evolving to more nocturnal habits as a way of adapting to human diurnal activity.
However it was mid morning last year when the bobcat at our bird feeders picked its way by, with a trail of local crows silently following. The birds were no doubt hoping it would make a kill and afford them a dining opportunity.
And the snarling outside the workshop? It was probably prompted by hunger at my sounding like a rummaging rodent. The bobcat was just as startled as I was when we finally met-it turned and bounded into the bush.
Domestic Kitties?
Bobcats and humans rarely cohabit in a domestic set-up with ease. "Pet" bobcats seem to misunderstand their role, and they often inflict violent claw wounds after launching themselves from behind curtains onto "prey," such as guests. Although it's illegal to keep bobcats as pets in most jurisdictions, folks have done it for centuries. John Bachman, who co-authored The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America with John James Audubon in the mid 1800s, made this mistake. Writing about a two-week-old kitten, he states: "It was the most spiteful, growling, snappish little wretch, and showed no disposition to improve its habits and manners under our kind tuition." It began by tearing apart the library and proceeded on to the chickens. From there, behaviour deteriorated even further...