Bobcat

“ His ears had already informed him that it was a man. No fox, bobcat, coyote, or anything else that belonged to the wild, had ever walked so heavily or so clumsily. Blowing against him, the wind brought no identifying scent to his nose. Frosty sprang to the boulder's top because it was a vantage point from which, while he still used his ears, he could use his eyes to better advantage. ”

“ Lady Ebony was proud of him, but she was worried too, because there were so many enemies in this wild country. She was a horse trained to depend upon man, his fences and his protecting rifle. Vaguely she knew she should be in a shed during this important time. Midnight shared none of her worries; he was typically a wild horse.
That evening the big bobcat serenaded them from the blue-black depths of the cottonwood grove. No man or beast who has ever heard the terrifying yowling of the cat-of-the-mountain when he is struck by a lonely mood has remained calm and unfrightened. ”

“ On its wild ranges the bobcat feeds to a large extent upon rabbits and other injurious rodents, but it preys also upon such valuable forms of wild life as antelope, deer, and other game animals, especially the fawns, and on wild turkeys, quail, and other ground-nesting birds. With human occupation of its former haunts, it finds in the young of domestic livestock very satisfactory substitutes for its ordinary fare in the wild. ”

“ Grouse also are taken, and on forays above treeline the bobcat may feed upon ptarmigan. It lives in dens in the rocks and sometimes in a hollow tree. Like the snowshoe rabbit upon which it preys, the bobcat has natural “snowshoes”—its feet are expanded in winter by long hairs, which help support the animal on the snow. ”

“ The Wildcat of Europe, and of literature, is a creature of almost unparalleled ferocity. Our own Wildcat is three times as big and heavy, so many persons assume that it is three times as ferocious, and therefore to be dreaded almost like a Tiger. The fact is, the American Wildcat or Bobcat is a very shy creature, ready to run from a very small dog, never facing a man and rarely killing anything bigger than a Rabbit.
I never saw but one Bobcat in the Yellowstone Park, and that was not in the Park, but at Gardiner where it was held a captive. ”

“ Harky bent his head toward Old Brindle's flank but his thoughts whisked him out of the stable into the hills.
Shotgun in hand, he'd spent a fair portion of yesterday tracking a bobcat on the snow. It was a proved fact that a man on foot cannot catch up with a bobcat that is also on foot. ”

“ On gaining entry into a flock of sheep at lambing time, commonly under cover of darkness, the bobcat carries on its depredations in such manner as to cause little commotion there. The lamb is usually killed by a characteristic bite on the back of the neck or head, and then it is pulled down to be eaten. If its lust for killing is not satisfied, the bobcat may kill other lambs by the same method, continuing its work quietly until a large number have been destroyed. A single bobcat has been known to kill 38 lambs in this manner in one night. ”

“ Ordinarily the bobcat seems to be rather uncommon, but its nocturnal habits usually prevent its real numbers being actually known. In districts where not much hunted it is not uncommonly seen abroad by day, especially in winter, when driven by hunger. ”

“ Had our hero had a rifle or a shotgun, he might have gone on a hunt for the beast. But he carried only his small automatic, and he did not consider this a particularly good weapon with which to stir up the bobcat. He went on his way, and now Sport set off on a gallop, evidently glad to leave such a dangerous vicinity behind. Although horses are much larger, bobcats are such vicious animals that no horses care to confront them.
“I sure am having my fill of adventures to-day,” mused Dave grimly. “First Nick Jasniff, and now that bobcat! ”

“ When the trail of a bobcat has been found, by track or sign, along, or leading from its rocky lair, traps may be placed in either double or single sets. If the trail is not frequently used by livestock also, or by such big-game animals as deer, the so-called "blind" trap set may be employed. This set is called a blind because no lure or scent need be used around it when completed. ”

“ By bein' plumb painstakin', Tutt an' Texas gets a collar onto the captive Bar-8 bobcat, an' chains him up over the Red Light bar, in place of the stuffed bobcat, deeposed. The Bar-8 bobcat jumps off once or twict before he learns, an' comes mighty clost to lynchin' himse'f. But Black Jack is patient, an' each time pokes him back with a cha'r. After mebby the third jump, it gets proned into the bobcat that thar's nothin' in it for him to go hurlin' himse'f into space that a-way, an' bein' saved from death by hangin' only through the cha'r-laig meditations of Black Jack. ”

“ As long as they were tracked they were comfortable in the knowledge that they had only to keep running. When the tracker stopped, it threw the bobcat's whole plan out of gear. They imagined all sorts of ambushes, and cunning traps, and finally they worked themselves into such a frenzy that they just had to come back along their own tracks and find out what was happening. ”

“ The little bobcat ranges through the woods mostly at night seeking small rodents, rabbits, grouse, and ptarmigan. Like his giant cousin, the cougar, he will invariably detect quickly the presence of any intruder and quietly slip away. The presence of long hairs between his toes in winter, forming a “snowshoe-like” pad, enables him to travel swiftly through winter snows. Although wary of man, he will frequent settled areas where food in the form of rats, mice, and rabbits is common. ”

“ One of the best natural checks on these pests is the bobcat which, in certain areas, does more good than harm. Where doing damage to game or livestock bobcats may be eliminated by trapping or hunting with dogs. ”

“ Losses caused by this predatory animal among sheep are particularly severe when lambing is conducted on the open range and the lambing grounds are in close proximity to the broken, rough, rocky canyons that favor the presence of the bobcat. Sheepmen often choose such rugged country for lambing grounds because of the protection it affords against storms. ”

“ Opinions have been sought as to the probable identity of these belligerent animals. So far, no plausible or reasonable suggestion has been made. Some of the old-timers say the tale reminds them of experiences of fifty or sixty years ago, when the bay-lynx, bobcat or wild-cat made these woods and mountains their home and hunting ground; but they have been exterminated. ”

“ They are easily trapped. The fur is soft and handsome but does not wear well. Fur buyers designate the large, pale bobcats of eastern Washington as lynx cats and reserve the name bobcat for the more reddish race of western Washington. Immature and unprime pelts from eastern Washington also are classed as "bobcat." ”

“ At the spring the bobcat drops down upon them from the black rock, and the red fox picks them up returning in the dark. By day the hawk and eagle overshadow them, and the coyote has all times and seasons for his own.
Cattle, when there are any in the Ceriso, drink morning and evening, spending the night on the warm last lighted slopes of neighboring hills, stirring with the peep o’ day. In these half wild spotted steers the habits of an earlier lineage persist. It must be long since they have made beds for themselves, but before lying down they turn themselves round and round as dogs do. ”

“ He had been some distance ahead of the animal, and when it ran up to the edge of the clearing Bert had several snowballs ready.
“Come on now! See how you like that!” cried the boy. He threw one snowball “bullet,” but he was so excited that it went high over the head of the bobcat. The next one struck in the snow at the feet of the animal. But the third one hit it right on the nose!
“Good shot!” cried Bert.
The wildcat uttered a snarl and a growl, and 212 stopped for a moment. Perhaps it had never before chased anyone who threw snowballs. ”

“ Another period of waiting, and Max again caught a slight sound. At first he feared that his former visitor, the bobcat, had returned with the intention of making a closer investigation; but, after listening, he became convinced that this was not the case.
Now it was a peculiar rustling among the dead leaves that lay under the trees, no fire having ever swept across the island, at least for many years. The sound was really continuous, and could hardly be made by the passage of any animal—mink, skunk, weasel, 'coon, 'possum or even muskrat. ”

“ It had tasseled ears, a wide, wicked “smile,” bristling whiskers, and fangs that really made Nan tremble, although she was some yards from the bobcat.
As she believed, from what her cousins had told her, bobcats are not usually dangerous. They never seek trouble with man, save under certain conditions; and that is when a mother cat has kittens to defend.
This was a big female cat, and, although the season was early, she had littered and her kittens, three of them, were bedded in a heap of leaves blown by the wind into a hollow tree trunk. ”

“ But Edgerton, he began rowing towards me with Annabel, she happy despite herself, and when I see it wouldn't do to tarry no longer, I cuts loose the old deaf boatman and unstops his mouth. Well, sir, he lets out a yell that would a-done credit to a bobcat fighting in the traps. I had to run for it fellows from the club-house took after me thinking I'd been murdering somebody—I skinned them Ozark hills and I skinned myself. But Brick, he says, 'When you turns loose a bobcat, expect scratches,' says he. ”

“ However the bobcat—and by a glimpse he had of the beast Ted was sure it was a lynx—did not accept the invitation to come down and be clubbed. The animal snarled again and moved out on the limb over Ted’s [180] head so the boy had a good view of it. Then he saw more clearly what it was—an animal like a cat, only three times as large, and with curious tufts of fur on its ears. The lynx is about the only animal that has ear tassels. ”

“ Andy had shot another great horned owl. He had caught another fox and a bobcat, which he knew were raiding his muskrats, and this in a time of plenty, when anything with more than mediocre hunting skill could fill its belly. Now the migratory birds were going or had already gone. Soon mice would be moving beneath snow, rather than grass tunnels. That left little except grouse, which were very wise and very hard to catch; sparrows, chickadees and the few other birds that stayed throughout the winter; and rabbits.
However, predators did not migrate. ”

“ The bobcat preys on deer and on many of the small wild animals, rabbits in particular. These predators, when run and hunted with a pack of dogs, provide a fascinating sport which is growing in popularity. ”

“ The lucivee, or lynx, and bobcat, more ferocious and cunning than their smaller cousins, roam the woods and swamps, live on smaller animals, hide in caves, crevices, and hollow trees, and they as well as otter occasionally are caught in deadfalls.
Old Cy, familiar as he was with the homes, habits, and the manner of catching these cunning animals, soon began his trap-setting campaign. ”

“ These potbellied little brownies of the high country were well content with the crumbs from the great one’s table. The keen eyes and the ready blast of warning from the high rock removed their chief worries. The sentinel whistler was sure to announce the arrival of the swift-hawk, the laughing coyote, the martens, or the bobcat. There were many other enemies of the air and the forest and the whistler watched for and spotted all of them. ”

“ Here, each of several trappers regularly takes a dozen or more each year. Mr. Lester Fairbrother of Oroville, Okanogan County, regularly traps lynxes in the northern Cascades. They are taken in wooded areas where snowshoe rabbits, their principal food in winter, are abundant. In the more accessible parts of the animal's range, such as the Blue Mountains and the mountains of northeastern Washington, lynxes are rare. As much as sixty dollars each is offered for large skins.
[Pg 241]
Lynx rufus (Schreber)
Bobcat Description.—The average male bobcat weighs approximately 20 pounds. ”

“ The evolutionary changes in several species are relatively great. In color, for example, the bobcat in the humid coastal area of western Washington is notable for its dark coloration, whereas in the more arid area of southeastern Washington it is remarkably pale and of a different subspecies. Within the limits of the state of Washington, elevations ranging from sea level to more than 14,000 feet occur. Since different elevations have their characteristic mammals, more kinds are found in Washington than in other areas of corresponding size that lack such topographic diversity. ”

“ The range may include deep forest, dense thickets and open grasslands, but country with considerable edge-environment seems to be preferred to dense cover, and rocky areas to smooth soil. Perhaps the abundance of mice and wood rats attracts bobcats to the rocks, but the cover afforded is also a factor.
The bobcat is almost universally regarded as a predator and the state of Washington now offers a bounty on it. The animals doubtless do kill a certain amount of game, but kill also other animals which man regards as pests because they interfere with reforestation and growing of food crops. ”