In spring, ’tis said that a young man’s thoughts turn to love. That same adage applies to one of Michigan’s more interesting but less commonly seen critters—the bobcat.

In spring, ’tis said that a young man’s thoughts turn to love. That same adage applies to one of Michigan’s more interesting but less commonly seen critters—the bobcat.

Thoughts of spring are easy to come by after a long and gloomy winter—even more eagerly awaited if you are a bobcat with romance on the mind. When spring nears, these ‘wildcats’ begin to think about courting. By early spring, they stop thinking and start doing.

Bobcats are native wild felines found throughout North America, from southern Canada to southern Mexico. About 1 million bobcats live in the United States, and their population is much higher in the Southeast (they are living closer to urban and suburban settings) than in Western states. In Michigan, forestlands provide lots of potential habitat and bobcat numbers and locations are increasing as forests age and their habitat base expands.

These cats use a variety of habitats, including mature forests, semi-deserts, mountains, and brushland. Nocturnal hunters, they sleep daytimes in hidden dens—hollow trees, thickets, or rocky crevices—and become most active
at night.

Bobcats are easily identified by the same thing that gives them their name—a short, “bobbed” tail. They range in size from 8 to 32 pounds, depending on age, food, and winter impacts on metabolism; and from 25.5 inches to 41 inches, not counting the short “bobbed” tail.

The bobcat’s coat may be in various shades of buff and brown fur, often with a reddish tinge as noted in their scientific name, Felix rufus. The coat is marked with dark brown or black stripes and spots on some parts of the body. The tail tip and backs of the ears are black. Ears have short, dark hair tufts, and there are ruffs of hair on the side of the head. (A somewhat larger relative, the lynx, has longer ear tufts, but are very rare in Michigan and unlikely to be encountered.)

Because of their active nightlife, they are rarely seen in the daylight hours. But heard? Oh, yes—especially when spring mating season arrives.

As noted, bobcats breed once yearly in early spring; a peak of breeding activity in much of the state occurs in April. They produce an average of three kittens per mating, born after a gestation period of 60 to 70 days.

The young kittens do not open their eyes for the first time until they are about 10 days old; they will nurse through their second month until weaned.

It takes mother bobcats the summer and fall to care for and teach the young to hunt (about eight months) and then the kits go on their own.

People camping in the forest at this time of year may often become aware of the mating of bobcats. It is a noisy, loud and hair-raising sound if it comes in the middle of a dark night in the woods. To the uninformed, it can be a goose bump-raising event. Though silent of voice most of the year, when mating, bobcats can be very vocal with loud screams and moans.

The mating system of bobcats is similar to that of domestic cats. Males and females meet for just the brief time required for courtship and copulation. Bobcats are promiscuous and both males and females may have multiple partners.

As with many cats, bobcats are solitary critters. The male and female interact almost exclusively during the mating season. They form no lasting pair bonding, and mating might be described as a “one night stand.” Once mating is over, they go their separate ways for the rest of the year.

Following the birth of their young, the mother’s milk provides them with nourishment until weaned. Female bobcats will bring meat from their kills to their young and teach them how to hunt after they are weaned, staying with the young kits for nearly a year. (Male bobcats have no part in raising their offspring.)

Bobcats are basically terrestrial and nocturnal, although they are good climbers and are often active at dusk, as well.

Home ranges are about one to several square kilometers, and bobcats use urine, feces, and anal gland secretions to mark their turf boundaries. A dominant male’s home range may overlap another male’s territory, and often overlaps those of several females. Female home ranges are smaller and do not overlap.

Bobcats have radar-keen vision and sharp hearing. Aided by a well-developed sense of smell, these traits add up to remarkable hunting skills and constant danger to prey animals the bobcat detects.

Bobcats are strictly meat-eaters. Patiently stealthy, they stalk their prey, then pounce and kill with a bite to the vertebrae of the neck. This technique is common to all felids, large or small.

Rodents, rabbits, snowshoe hare, small ungulates, large ground birds, and sometimes reptiles are the bobcat’s favorite meals. They sometimes eat small domesticated animals or poultry, which has resulted in attempts to eradicate them in some areas, but they present no major impact on farm animals overall.

Humans pose the only real threat to adult bobcats, but their kittens are preyed upon by foxes, coyotes, and large owls.
Bobcats in Michigan have no special status. A limited and well-regulated hunting and trapping season is held, but closely monitored to assure no basic negative impact on the population, which seems to be expanding in many northern areas.

In Michigan’s forests and wild places, bobcats remain one of the more interesting critters that make our woodlands special.