Bobcats are light brown and reddish brown.
Their fur is spotted when they are babies, but the spots go away when they are
grown up. Bobcats’ coats look like a brownish orange gray in the winter and a
reddish brown in the summer.
Both Bobcats and house cats keep their
claws inside their toes. Their claws are very sharp. When Bobcats leave foot
prints, their claws don’t show. (You can tell paw prints of a dog from those of
the Bobcat because claw marks do show up in dog tracks, while the Bobcat tracks
are without claw marks.)
Like house cats, Bobcats are
curious but they are shy. Bobcats never come up to people. They are not very
good pets. Bobcats have sharp teeth. Bobcats are carnivores and have the
scientific name Felis. It has to do with felines, the cat family.
As you can see, Bobcats and House Cats
are similar but they have some important differences.
Bobcats only live in North America. Most
Bobcats live in the United States. There are many habitats in which Bobcats
live. Most Bobcats live where there are trees such as the Coastal Plain in
North Carolina. They like swamps such as the Great Dismal Swamp in the
northeast part of our state. Bobcats also live in the Mountain Region of North
Carolina. They like open forests that have been there for a long time. Bobcats
like their dens to be made of hollow trees, rock piles, or brush piles.
Bobcats don’t only live in North Carolina.
They also live in other places. Bobcats mostly choose places with lots of prey.
Bobcats are also found in Mexico. There, they live in dry desserts and dry oak
forests. In the United States they live in forests in the North.
Many plants and animals live with the Bobcats in the Great Dismal Swamp. Some of the animals are Black Bears, Otters, Bats, Raccoons, Minks, Gray Fox, Red Fox, Gray Squirrels, White Tailed Deer, Cotton Mouth snakes, and Cane Brake rattle snakes. There are more animals that live with the Bobcat. They are the Copperhead snake, Spotted turtles, Yellow-Bellied turtles, lizards, salamanders, frogs, toads, and wood ducks.
There are also a large variety of plants
that live in the Great Dismal Swamp. Some of them are the Beech tree, the
Loblolly tree, the Pond Pine tree, the American Elm and Tulip tree, Swamp White
Oak tree, Water Oak tree, and Sycamore tree.
There are also many plants and animals that live in the mountains. Some of the animals are Black Bears, River Otters, Cougars, Bald Eagles, White Tailed Deer, Panthers, Golden Eagles, Squirrels, and Chipmunks. Some of the plants that live in the mountains are Wild Flowers, Red Maple Trees, Lady Slipper Flowers, Dog Hobble Flowers, Dog Wood Flowers, Sourwood Flowers, Bloodroot Flowers, Joepye Flowers, Fire Pink Flowers, Butterfly Flowers, Foam Flowers, Magnolia Trees, Rhododendron Flowers, and Fraser Tree.
The Bobcat lives in other places, but the
Coastal Plain and the Mountain Region are the most popular in North
Carolina.
Bobcats eat a variety of animals such as
rabbits, rodents, birds, bats, and deer. Adult deer are hunted in the winter.
They also eat sheep and goats. They crawl up behind their prey and then pounce
so they can kill the animal and eat it.
Bobcats are consumers because they eat
other living things to get their energy.
One of the Bobcat’s favorite foods is squirrel. Squirrels eat nuts and
seeds. Nuts come from oak trees so the sun provides energy for the oak trees.
When a Bobcat dies, a decomposer such as a vulture, will come eat it.
Each animal in the food chain has an
important part. If any animal in the food chain disappears, all the animals
would be affected. If the Bobcat became extinct, the rabbits and squirrels
would increase population, but other animals eat rabbits, too, such as foxes.
Then the foxes would increase in population because there would be more rabbits
for them to eat.
As you can see, the Bobcat is part of a
very complicated food chain.
Well, the sun is coming up and it’s morning; time to
go see my friends! Hello, my name is
Bob the bobcat. My relatives live in the mountains and swamps. I live in the
Great Dismal Swamp. The Great Dismal Swamp is a swampy marshy place with lots
of trees, grass, shrubs, lakes, and rivers.
Oh! Here come my friends Otter, raccoon,
and lizard. Otter spends most of his time in the river. Raccoon spends his time
in the on land. Oh no! Here comes Mr.
Copperhead snake! He is a Grandfather snake and has been trying to catch me for
years. He has never caught me because the color of my coat helps me blend in
with my surroundings. Mr. Copperhead’s
skin helps him blend in, too. He’s one predator that I don’t want to mess
with. Otter and raccoon will have to go
home in an emergency like this!
I start my tour in the woods. The Great
Dismal Swamp is full of adventures so you will see a lot of things. Oh! There’s
a Red Maple Tree and a Cypress Tree right beside it! Oh and there’s toad. Toad has just moved here so the only friend
he has is frog.
It is noon and it is getting hot. Now
lets go into the lake. The lake is sandy with lots of salamanders. There is a
lot of adventure there, too. Oh look! There are fish and otter. We can say hi
to otter and watch him catch some fish.
Now lets go to some more parts of the river. Oh! There’s toad and frog
again! Lets go on land again and search for some more things. There’s a Sweet
Gum Tree! There’s a Gray Squirrel in it. A Gray Squirrel! That can be a good
prey item for a carnivore like me. Now
it’s lunchtime and I’m hungry.
Let’s go further into the woods. There’s
a Water Oak Tree. No wonder, we’re by another lake. There’s a Wood Duck!
There’s a spotted turtle and a yellowbellied turtle!
Well it’s getting dark and it’s time for
me to start hunting. I hoped you liked your tour! See ya!
”An
Introduction to Food Chains” designed by erika sass, Loyola Marymount University.
Posted on March 21, 2002. Accessed
in October 2002.
http://www.lmu.edu/education/edcourse/ed634/spring02/foodchain/foodchain.htm
Note: Author and e-mail were not
available.
“Bobcat
(lynx rufus floridanus)” Authored by Michael Wisenbaker. Sponsored by Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission. Accessed in October 2002.
http://www.floridawildlifemagazine.com/species/bobcat.htm
Note: e-mail address and post date
were unavailable.
“CSG
Species Accounts: Bobcat (Lynx rufus)” Sponsored by The World Conservation Union.
Accessed in October 2002.
http://lynx.uio.no/jon/lynx/rufus-04.htm
Note: Author, e-mail address, and
post date were unavailable.
“Bobcat
(Felis rufus or Lynx rufus)” Sponsored by the Pelotes Island Nature Preserve
. Accessed in October 2002.
http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Mammal/bobcat.htm
Note: Author, e-mail address, and
post date were unavailable.
“The
Great Dismal Swamp: A History” Sponsored by the GREAT DISMAL SWAMP NATIONAL
WILDLIFE REFUGE. Accessed in October 2002.
http://www.albemarle-nc.com/gates/gdsnwr/
Note: Author, e-mail address, and
post date were unavailable.
“PATC
- Bob Pickett's 2002 Trail and Field Notes”Author, Bob Pickett pickett@nadn.navy.mil Accessed in
October 2002.
http://www.patc.net/hiking/pickett/pickett2002.html#041902
Note: Post date was unavailable.
“Grandfather
Mountain: Wildlife Habitats” < habitats@grandfather.com>
Sponsored
by Grandfather Mountain. Accessed in October 2002.
http://www.grandfather.com/habitats/habitats.htm
Note: Author, and post date were
unavailable.
“Common
Plants in the North Carolina mountains”
Sponsored by: Mountain Land Company <paul@ncmountainland.net> Accessed
in October 2002.
http://www.ncmountainland.net/nature/plants.html
Note: Author, and post date were
unavailable.