On January 6 approximately166 attendees were in for a real treat as they tuned in to hear an online presentation about the bobcat’s natural history in Connecticut including their habitat, diet, reproduction, current research efforts, and how they differ from mountain lions.
Paul Colburn, a State-certified Master Wildlife Conservationist, trained in wildlife management, natural history, and interpretation, presented - and wowed - the audience. Even if you thought you knew everything about bobcats, Paul quickly demonstrated how much more there was to learn and what researchers still are learning about this amazing cat.
Bobcats are this state’s only breeding wildcat. (Paul stated emphatically that the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection’s denial that mountain lions (or cougars) do not reside here is based on science. There is no breeding population of mountain lions here!)
Bobcats are solitary creatures, except when mating or raising their young, and rarely are seen as they are most active before dawn and just after dusk. They punch way above their weight when it comes to hunting and can bring down a 150-pound deer, even though the bobcat is only 2-3 times larger than a domestic cat! They are very patient hunters and rely on a thick under-story in their preferred habitat of mixed forests with wetlands to stalk their prey. They have even been known to go into the water after food. A bobcat can leap a seven-foot fence from a dead stop and will use its eyesight and ears more than smell when it comes to hunting. They are carnivores and eat a broad range of species from rabbits, which make up the bulk of their diets, to squirrels, birds, muskrat, chipmunks, rats and other small rodents, beaver, porcupine, and mink. That headless rabbit you saw half-buried by leaves by the side of the trail was probably cached there by a bobcat to keep it fresh and safe from other predators, and it is likely watching you from a safe distance! Bobcats are also known to fancy the odd domestic cat or fowl.
Once thought a threat to agricultural animals and hunted for their fur, they were slaughtered almost to extinction. Hunting was banned in 1972, and it is estimated that there are now about 1,000 in the state. They continue to flourish, although their population fluctuates with the abundance of prey. They are believed to have a range of 8-29 square miles, and research shows they are comfortable in urban and suburban environments as well as the rugged, more isolated terrain of their traditional habitat. They don’t have too many predators once grown but as young can be taken by Great Horned Owls, coyotes, and adult male bobcats. If they survive to adulthood, they can live 5-7 years, sometimes as long as 12 years. They rarely contract rabies, and any bobcat behaving abnormally or aggressively should be reported to DEEP.
They are serially monogamous and breed in February/March. One to four kittens are born in April. They are helpless at birth and will nurse for 69 days and stay with their mother until the next spring.
There is a lot of research going on at DEEP on bobcats, and the Farmington River Valley is one of the areas of focus. DEEP’s bobcat page can be found here. The public is encouraged to report sightings (including roadkill) so that DEEP can learn more about their diet, home range, size, mortality rates, reproductive rates, and juvenile survival. To view bobcats in action, visit WLT's YouTube Channel for a recommended video, The Mystery and Magic of Bobcats.
Also be sure to watch the next in the Nature Lecture Series on White-Tail Deer February 3 at 6:30. Paul will delight you with what you don’t know! Register here.
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