The name Bobcat may have originated from its short tail, which is only 6 or 7 inches long. The end of its tail is always black, tipped with white, 

The Bobcat has long legs and large paws. The average Bobcat is only 15 to 20 pounds. 

The Bobcat's growls and snarls are so deep and fearsome, particularly when hidden from view, that one gets the mis-impression it must be a Mountain Lion.

Bobcats found in timber and heavy brush fields are darker with rust-colored tones.

Bobcats  found in the  northeastern California  are a paler tawny-gray.  Sometimes they do not have any spots on their backs. The coat in wintertime is a beautiful fur.

The Bobcat is quite fierce and is equipped to kill animals as large as deer. When living near a ranch, it may take lambs, poultry and even young pigs. However, food habit studies have shown Bobcats live on a diet of rabbits, ground squirrels, mice, pocket gophers and wood rats. 
 
 

Life Cycle

The normal Bobcat litter consists of 2 or 3 kittens, born blind and weighing 4 to 8 ounces. Birth occurs in a rock crevice or burrow, after a 60-day gestation period. The kittens open their eyes after 10 days and are taught hunting skills by their mother until they leave her 9 or 10 months later. The father has no role in raising the offspring.

Males are usually fertile by their first year, but females do not usually give birth to their first litter until they are two years old. Females normally produce just one litter per year. Because Bobcats are solitary animals, males and females spend only a few days of the year together -- during courtship and mating. Bobcats in captivity have been known to live as long as 25 years.

Young Bobcats appear as lovable and harmless domestic kittens, but because they are wild animals with the ability to inflict injury to humans, it is illegal to keep Bobcats as pets without special permits.

Current Status

Because of the high value of the Bobcat's fur and the recent increase in the take by hunters and licensed fur trappers, the California Fish and Game Commission has imposed a wintertime trapping season to control the amount of time when Bobcat can be taken.

The Department of Fish and Game has initiated a number of studies throughout the state to determine density, home range, and territoriality of the bobcat and to determine details of population dynamics, including age and sex structure of bobcats so that management plans may regulate what has become a valuable commercial resource.

Presently, the fur trapping season extends from November 15 to the last day of February. However, due to the very nature and location of the terrain which Bobcats prefer, the deep snows and impassable muddy roads in winter virtually close thousands of square miles of bobcat habitat during the hunting and trapping season. This, plus the protective regulations, should allow the Bobcat to thrive in California. The Bobcat has at last been recognized as a valuable part of our wildlife resources.