Texas Bobcats......A Primer

[Bobcat]

Here is some basic information on bobcats here in Texas:

Description
A medium-sized, short-tailed, reddish brown or grayish cat about the size of a chow dog; upperparts reddish brown, streaked with black; underparts whitish, spotted with black; back of ears black-rimmed, with white in center; ears usually slightly tufted; hair on sides of head long, producing a ruff; pelage elsewhere rather short; tail usually shorter than hind foot; the tip black above and white below, with three or four blackish bars above just in front of tip; legs relatively long; feet large, with five toes in front, four behind. External measurements average: (males); total length, 870 mm; tail, 146 mm; hind foot, 171 mm; females, 772-144-158 mm. Weight of adults, 5-9 kg, occasionally as much as 16 kg in old animals.

Distribution: Statewide.

Habits
Bobcats occupy a variety of habitats, but they have a decided preference for rocky canyons or outcrops when such are available. In rockless areas they resort to thickets for protection and den sites. They are associated more commonly with pinyon pines, junipers, oak, or chaparral in Texas but they also occur in small numbers in open pine forests. These cats are highly adaptable and in most places have been able to cope with the inroads of human settlement.

Shy and retiring, they are active largely at night although they frequently leave cover and begin hunting long before sundown. In hilly country, their presence can often be detected by their habit of dropping their feces on large rocks on promontories or ridges. Also, like the mountain lion, the males make scrapes - small piles of leaves, sticks, and so forth on which they urinate - along their travel routes, but these scrapes are smaller. They den in crevices in canyon walls, in boulder piles, or in thickets. The dens can be readily recognized by the strong odor emanating from them. Expert at climbing trees, bobcats seek refuge in them when available.

Their food consists mainly of small mammals and birds. The stomachs of 118 bobcats contained the following (expressed in percentages): mammals, 65.8 (44.5 of which were harmful species, 20.5 beneficial, 1.1 neutral); birds (bait), 3.1 - fish (bait), 0.6; unidentified foods, 3.1; miscellaneous material (not food), 27.1. among the mammals, wood rats, ground squirrels, mice, and rabbits supply the bulk of the diet. Although deer occasionally are killed and eaten, most of the deer meat found in bobcat stomachs has been carrion. They also prey upon domestic sheep, goats, and poultry but the damage done is rarely great.

The breeding season begins usually in February, and after a gestation period of about 60 days the two to seven young are born. Average litter size is three. The young are well-furred and spotted at birth; their eyes open in about 9 days. The kittens are weaned when about 2 months old. They remain with their mother until early fall, at which time they begin to fend for themselves. Females do not breed during their first year, but they may mate between their first and second years and breed annually afterwards until 8-9 years of age.

[Texpppr]

I just got done talking to the place I am going deer hunting next weekend. said they are over run with bobcats. Going to also bring my .223 to the deer blind. Have never shot one.

[Bobcat]

Texppr,

Good luck this week! If you get a drive-by bobcat, great.....if not, I would go back after season and call one in!!

Good Hunting,

Bob

[PaulB]

While hunting here in West Texas Tuesday evening I saw the biggest bobcat I've ever seen. With about 15 minutes of daylight left, I spotted a bobcat at water's edge on a nearby tank.

I've seen bobcats before in the wild but this fella was huge in comparison. I estimate his weight at 40-45 lbs. Not that tall (knee high) but he was extremely thick.

I didn't realize these critters could get so big. When I looked it up in one of my books I was surprised to find that they can get up to 70 lbs. The book is called North American Wildlife. The 70 lbs. listed in this book conflicts with the 16 kG max weight that I see on these stats which I think comes from the TP&WD.

I'm sure it was a bobcat from it's markings but another thing that baffles me a little is that his tail was about 12 inches long. Although that is shorter than a big cat, it still is longer than the 5" average that I've seen quoted as tail length from several sources.

Any comments?

He sure would have looked good on the mantle in the ranch house.... Unfortunately, that was not to be. When I put the rifle on the window frame it made a slight noise and soon as it did, the cat quickly vacated... Still, it was worth it just observing him.

[Bennie]

You may have been looking at a lynx, nearly everything you see says they are no longer in texas, but every once in a while you hear of one. I remember when I was a youngster ( yes I can remember that long Deadeye ) my Grandfather was losing chickens and had set a trap, guess what he caught, and that was in Granbury , Texas. So some may still be around.

[PaulB]

I didn't think a Lynx would even get as big as a bobcat. Do they get bigger?

[Bennie]

They get about twice the size of a bobcat ( not our Bob ), mostly grey in appearance with a longer tail and legs. With tuffs of hair on the ears and some big ole feet.

[PaulB]

Thanks Bennie...

That's exactly what this guy looked like as far as being bigger AND having bigger feet. I didn't really notice the tufted hair on the ears but I wasn't paying particular attention to his ears. Mainly, I was just VERY surprised at his size and that his tail although not as long as a cougar was still considerably longer than the 5" tail of a bobcat. I estimate his tail was about 12 to 14 inches long.

[pyledriver]

Hey Guys,

One question and one observation-- Has anybody ever heard of some sort of cat that is prevalent in Mexico that has made it's way into south Texas? Maybe some sort of bobcat but different than what we're used to? I ask because a rancher I know in Junction insists that he has seen some dark cat from time to time that is somewhere between bobcat and mountain lion sized. He absolutely swears that it's some sort of Mexican critter and not just a dark colored bobcat.

Observation-wise, I was hunting several years ago at the Caddo Grasslands (type II) and saw what appeared to be a mountain lion but all black. I've been told that I saw a panther by some and that I'm nuts by others. However, I know what I saw!! I never hunted that spot again because the thing scared the crap outta me, but lately I've been thinking.....

[pyledriver]

Whoops-left out part of my question! Could it be a lynx that this rancher is seeing down there in Junction?

Thanks!

[Bennie]

There have been some reports of what they call jaguarundi moving up from mexico, they are somewhere between the size of a bobcat and a mountain lion and have a dark color phase. There are also some jaguars that have been known to work there way up into southern texas. Some of these south texas boys can probably help more, just my .02 worth.

[pyledriver]

Hi Bennie,

I couldn't remember earlier but now that you mention it he did call it a Jaguarundi. I'd like to see the thing-I'm never down there without a rifle handy! There are also loads of ringtail cats down there that might look kinda cool mounted...but those aren't in the same league!

Thanks!

[slammy]

Good Job, Bennie

We hunt a ranch near Crystal City right on the Nueces River that has jaguarundi. At least one female and a possible sighting of a male. The female has been sighted four times, once with a cub in tow. Parks and Wildlife has been keeping in touch with the ranch owner to develop a habit pattern. I think the sightings have been in winter and spring. I don't know about the range of these cats, so I don't know if they range in and out of an area or not. I would suspect they do.

Patsy and I got a fleeting glimpse of a cat one night out there. It was quick but we both agreed it was a very dark cat and it definitely had a tail. This cat was heavy bobcat size, although low to the ground. 30 lbs. or more--big. No spots. Black or very dark gray. I think they are protected. We had orders not to shoot it if we called it up.

[Bobcat]

You probably just saw a very large bobcat. Lynx don't range this far south. There are Jaguarundi in Texas. Doc is up to speed on them......as you might expect. I will let him fill in the blanks. Here in one photo of one with a dark color phase. There are also occasional sightings of jaguars on this side of the border as stated above.

Bob

"The jaguarundi is native to Central America and the northern and central countries of South America down to Argentina - it is also rarely sighted in parts of Texas and New Mexico in the southern United States. A number of jaguarundi are also to be found in Florida, although these are descendants of a small population introduced to the area in the 1940’s.
In appearance the jaguarundi is unlike any other cat and has been likened to a large weasel or otter, hence its english common name of ‘Otter Cat’. It is uniform in colour, ranging from dark grey/brown to an almost chestnut brown. In common with other species of wild cat, the darker forms are usually associated with dense forest cover and the paler forms with more arid habitats.

The body of the jaguarundi is long and low supported by short legs, measuring up to some 30 inches with an additional tail of about 20 inches. The head is small in proportion to its body size and sports short weasel like ears and narrow brown eyes. The jaguarundi is spotted at birth but these are lost at around three-four months old. Genetically, of all the wild cat species to be found in South America, the jaguarundi can perhaps be more closely associated with the larger felids. It has a chromosome count of 38, as do both the puma and jaguar, where as the remaining small felids in South America have only 36. There is some evidence to suggest that the jaguarundi is perhaps a descendant of the ancestral puma which is believed to have emigrated from Asia via the Bering Land bridge.

The jaguarundi is most commonly found in lowland habitats with good cover, such as forest margins and scrubland but is also found less commonly in dense tropical vegetation. The jaguarundi is often to be found close to running water and is an expert catcher of fish, which are caught with its probing front paws. Reports on the other prey species associated with the cat tend to vary on a regional basis but in general they include birds, which form a large part of its diet, small mammals, rodents, and reptiles. "

[pyledriver]

Those pics look like what the landowner described. He's the kind of person that wouldn't report stuff though-has an inherent distrust of government and would NEVER invite them onto his land!

Chances are not good that we'll run across it as we won't be hunting that land after this year. If y'all think they are protected then I'll certainly 'look but not touch'!

Thanks!