bobcat (Phoenix Zoo - Arizona Trail)

bobcat

Lynx rufus

Summary ⁶

The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago (AEO). With 12 recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States. The bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semidesert, urban edge, forest edges, and swampland environments. It persists in much of its original range, and populations...

Range description ⁷

Bobcats occur mostly in the United States, but also into southern Canada and northern Mexico. Historically, bobcats ranged throughout the contiguous US, but were extirpated from parts of the midwest and East coast (Nowell and Jackson 1996, Sunquist and Sunquist 2002), although they appear to be recolonizing or becoming more abundant (Govt of US 2007). Their range in Canada has been expanding northward with forest clearance (Nowell and Jackson 1996, Sunquist and Sunquist 2002). While generally favoring low and mid-elevations, in the western US they have been trapped at elevations up to 2,575 m (Nowell and Jackson 1996). In Mexico, radio-collared bobcats were located at 3,500 m on the Colima Volcano in western Mexico (Burton et al. 2003).

Iucn red list assessment ⁸

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2008

Assessor/s

Kelly, M., Caso, A. & Lopez Gonzalez, C.

Reviewer/s

Nowell, K., Breitenmoser-Wursten, C., Breitenmoser, U. (Cat Red List Authority) & Schipper, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)

Contributor/s

Justification

Listed as Least Concern because the bobcat is an abundant and wide-ranging species which does not meet any of the criteria for inclusion on the Red List.

History