Yesterday during my tramp through the swamp along Plum Creek I saw not one but two bobcats. They were hunting – or maybe fishing – while I was following a couple of horseback riders down a small side trail I hadn’t noticed before. That’s how I ended up in the swamp – silly me. In any event, the big cats were as surprised to see me as I was to see them. At 40 or 50 yards distant, they were still magnificent creatures – though, I admit, not as striking as this fine fellow appearing close up in a neighborhood tree a few years back.
Smile – You’re on Candid Camera!
Yesterday’s two bobcats were not the first I’ve seen in the hood recently. Last week I ran into one along the fence while I was walking to my car parked down at the end of Surrey Trail. Before slinking away, he/she paused to look guiltily over his/her shoulder at me like maybe I’d caught him/her trying to break into my car. Not in a hurry, though. Just calmly walking away on big padded paws. Don’t mind me, just passing through. Nothing to see here, folks. Go on about your business.
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Not exactly sure why, but all this set me to thinking about various things ecological. For instance, this winter I’ve seen more rabbits hopping around these parts than I ever have before. And if there’s anything on the bobcat menu more appetizing than hassenpfeffer, I’m not sure what it would be. But three big cats in a week? That’s truly remarkable. (Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern.)
It also set me to thinking about the differences between bobcats and mountain lions, since both are present here in the Rockies’ Front Range ecotone. (And if you’re unfamiliar with that term, see the definition, here.) Specifically, what features differentiate these two species? Read on if you’re curious.
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First: Size. Adult bobcats rarely grow bigger than 40 lbs. while adult mountain lions can be well over 200 lbs. Yikes!
Second: Diet. While bobcats eat mostly birds, fish, and small mammals, mountain lions prefer mule deer or even elk. And btw, while bobcats almost never attack people, mountain lions have been known to occasionally sample human flesh. So, intrepid hikers, take care: Word to the wise.
Third: Appearance. Bobcats look something like overgrown housecats with a spotted or mottled coat and a round face, while there’s no mistaking the solid-tan fur and square muzzle of a mountain lion. (Think “Nala” – not “Simba,” since there’s no mane – from Lion King.) Bobcat tails are always less than 10″ (hence the name) while a mountain lion’s tail can be 2 or even 3 feet long. Then there are the ear tufts: Present on a bobcat, absent on a mountain lion.
Fourth: Range. In the U.S.A. today, bobcats can still be found nationwide, while mountain lions only live from the Rockies westward. (There is a small population in south Florida and along the Gulf Coast where they go by the name “panthers.”) For what it’s worth, the last confirmed Pennsylvania sighting of a “Nittany Lion” (the panther, not the college football player) was in the 1880’s. But then again, some people claim to have seen UFO’s too, so there’s that.
Never seen a bobcat up in the mountains west of here, but many years ago when I was in Jr. High, I saw a mountain lion on our ranch. He/she came wandering up out of the gulch and then when he sighted us casually moved off into the scrub and up the mountain. Royalty — even without a mane.
I’ m here to inform you that there are mountain lions on n Pennsylvania too . Some believe they were stocked by the PGC to keep certain areas of deer population and Elk population in check . Anyway they are not common but are a fact!!