Description: Bobcats have soft, tan fur which is spotted with black. Fringes of long side-wiskers grow out from beneath its tufted ears. The bobcat�s tail with its black tip and white underside is only about 6 inches long.

Range/Habitat: Bobcats live in forests, mountains, swamps, and deserts throughout most of North America. Bobcats usually live alone. They make their homes among rocks and bushes and in caves and hollow logs. The female chooses a hidden spot to use as a den.

Courtship/Gestation/Birth: 1 to 6 young after a pregnancy of about 2 months. After nursing her kittens for two months, the mother will begin bringing meat back to the den for them. A month or two later, she will begin to take them on nighttime hunts. After 9 to 12 months, the kittens are ready to leave the den and live alone.

Diet: Hares, rabbits, rodents, and birds.

Remarks: The cat is named for its stubby tail, which seems to be cut off, or bobbed. In the wild, they may survive about 10 to 12 years. Raised in a zoo, however, they might live to be 25 years old.

Card by Henson Robinson Zoo Education Department.

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