A Bit About Bobcats
Bobcats are native to North America. One can easily spot a bobcat by identifying its black spotted fur and stubby black tail. Bobcats live in dens, and they may even have several. One den is their main source of shelter while the others act as auxiliary dens. The Bobcat is considered a solitary animal, preferring to move alone. They are also territorial, which means females will never share the same territory with one another. Male territories however, tend to overlap substantially. Territories are established with scent markings, and the size can vary. They generally encompass 25 to 30 square miles for males, and about five square miles for females. Their lifespans range from around 12 to 13 years old, and they gestate for approximately 50-70 days. When bobcats give birth, their litters are anywhere from 1 to 6 offspring.
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NutritionBobcats are secondary consumers, as well as heterotrophs.
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Diet
Bobcat’s mainly feed on rabbits and hares, but they also consume smaller animals such as squirrels, birds, and even the occasional deer. They will even consume birds or insects if populations bloom too rapidly.
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ImportanceBobcats are often considered to be a keystone specie, since their populations and biomass are small, but their impact on other trophic levels is extremely large. The bobcats are critical in maintaining populations of smaller mammals such as rabbits and squirrels in any ecosystem.
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Carrying Capacity
Bobcats do not have many natural predators aside from humans. Bobcats are legally harvested for the fur trade in 38 US states, and in seven Canadian provinces. Some larger consumers like coyotes and wolves may kill grown bobcats on occasion. However, bobcats are more vulnerable when they are young, and kittens can be eaten by owls, coyotes, foxes, and other bobcats. The bobcat populations are regulated by other Bobcats in what is known as intraspecific competition. Many bobcats are also killed by hunters, accidents, and automobiles. Their yearly survival rate is around 62% since young bobcats need time to master hunting. Yet another density dependent factor to bobcat populations is external parasites, ticks, and fleas. These parasites are transferred to bobcats through smaller mammals and prey, most commonly rabbits and squirrels. Internal parasites also affect bobcat populations, and around 52% carry internal parasites. Diseases are probably the largest killer of bobcats. “A California study (2012) found the primary source of mortality in Bobcats was notoedric mange, or feline scabies." However, recently Burmese Pythons have become serious bobcat predators. Their large appetites are causing bobcat populations to plummet, which could seriously affect other trophic levels in the future. Lack of bobcats will cause imbalances in lower trophic levels. In recent years, few bobcats have able to reach adulthood, and there has been a 87.5% decrease in their populations. This means that fox squirrels and rabbits could overpopulate, and could even overfeed on vegetation like mulberries and sawgrass. Mulberries and saw grass feed hundreds of other species within The Everglades such as beetles, silk worms, and deer. So the effects of the Burmese Pythons on bobcats will soon be felt throughout the entire food web.