Bobcats
Corey writes to Millie, “This is the Bobcat that Angela and I saw behind your property a couple months ago. We were taking our pony for a walk and this bobcat crossed on the hill in front of us.”
Bobcat at Arriba Vista Ranch
Wow, what fun it is to see a Bobcat, they are so elusive and sometimes referred to as the gray ghost because if you see one they disappear into the brush so quickly . In all my years of being in the outdoors hunting, fishing, hiking and camping I have seen quite a few. However in the Sunol/Fremont area I have seen more than a dozen in the last 15 years.
This guy was marking his territory in my back yard in south Fremont.
I often found the remains of rabbits in my back yard in south Fremont. The rabbits loved the protection from Coyotes the steel picket fences gave them. The Coyotes couldn’t get through the steel picket fences. The Bobcat could climb over the wood privacy parts of the fence to hunt the rabbits.
The Bobcat, like Fox, Raccoon, Opossum and all rodents come to peoples backyards to eat the food left out for dogs and cats. They also find food not cleaned up after backyard parties. While in your backyard all of the above animals can inflict severe damage or death should your pets be there.
This Bobcat had learned to catch gophers by hovering over the hole and as the gopher pushed up dirt
she hooked it into it’s mouth.
Bobcats will also breed with your domestic cat and produce some pretty racey looking offspring.
The adult bobcat is (18.7 to 49.2 in) long from the head to the base of the tail, averaging (32.6 in); the stubby tail adds (3.5 to 7.9 in) and its “bobbed” appearance gives the species its name. An adult stands about (12 to 24 in) at the shoulders. Adult males can range in weight from (14 to 40 lbs), with an average (21 lbs); females at (8.8 to 33.7 lbs), with an average of (15 lbs). The largest bobcat accurately measured on record weighed (49 lbs), although unverified reports have them reaching (60 lbs). The largest-bodied bobcats are from eastern Canada and northern New England while the smallest are from the southeast, particularly those in the southern Appalachians. The bobcat is muscular, and its hind legs are longer than its front legs, giving it a bobbing gait. At birth, it weighs 0.6 to 0.75 lbs and is about 10 in in length. By its first birthday, it will reach about 10 lbs.
Bobcats range from northern Mexico to southern Canada.
The Canadian Lynx range from southern Canada all the way north to Alaska with a few scattered in Washington, Idaho and Wyoming. The Lynx gives the appearance of bing a much heavier animal but the truth is in the numbers. The Lynx at a weight of (11 to 37 lbs), (30 to 42 in) in length, and a shoulder height of (19 to 22 in) is very close to the Bobcat in size. What gives the Lynx the appearance of larger size is that it has a heavier longer fur coat. Plus, the facial hair that gives both cats the square face is much longer on the Lynx.
