This representative of the feline family stands out both for its interesting coloration and unusual behavior. The English name “Bobcat” happened to be “bobbed” – “short”, because of the short tail of the bobcat, which seems “chopped off”.
There is even a legend, the ancient Greek myth of the origin of such a short tail. The goddess of fertility and the patroness of agriculture, Demeter, ordered her pupil Triptolemus to teach people how to plow the land. But the envious king of the Scythians Bobcat wanted to hinder him and assign glory to himself.
Slipping into the rooms of the young Triptolem at night, he brought a dagger over his chest, but then an angry goddess appeared and the king had to flee to the mountain forests in a hurry. As Demeter wished, on the run he turned into a wild cat, and the dagger that followed was almost completely cut off his tail. And to this day the descendants of the envious king wander alone through the mountain forests, deprived of the main cat’s pride and “helm” – their tail.
The bobcat can grow so loudly and menacingly that it may seem, this sound comes from a much larger animal.
Bobcat leads a nocturnal life. The animal is independent and exists alone, except for the mating season; Females raise their own cubs. But each cat closely follows its hunting territory, which can occupy up to 50 square kilometers. The size of the territory depends on the amount of food available.
Bobcat, like any cat can very quietly sneak up to its victim and suddenly attack. In addition, she is also a great swimmer.
Although the bobcat is twice as many domestic cats, it is not so large compared to many other species of wild felines, but let the size does not mislead you. While the bobcat, as a rule, hunts rabbits, hares and rodents, it is able to fill up the prey much more than itself, for example, a deer.
Bobcat is able to adapt to a wide variety of habitats: from forests to semi-arid deserts. They can also live in suburban areas, taking advantage of all the advantages of neighborhood with the city or even glance at the backyard of the residents. Even living among people, they tend to be secretive and cautious, demanding special treatment.
