According to amateur naturalist Mark Apgar, if you see bobcats in your backyard, don’t fear photographing them since they’re not aggressive animals. “I’d be more concerned about a raccoon walking up to me than a bobcat,” he said. But he cautioned to keep pets like cats and small dogs close by since hungry bobcats might snatch them for a meal. And back away if they approach you instead of shying away as they usually do. Apgar said none have ever approached him.
In early November, 34 people attended a one-hour bobcat presentation at Hilltop Farm.
Recently, he spoke on bobcats at Hilltop Farm. He said hundreds of bobcats live throughout Connecticut. Their ideal habitat is “young hardwood forests that have rocky ledges and nearby wetlands. It gives them a wide variety of things to eat,” he noted. “They are obligatory carnivores, meaning that they have to eat meat. They stalk and ambush their prey. Their sense of smell is not great, but they have excellent hearing and vision.” He said they’re solitary hunters that prefer squirrels, rabbits, moles, small birds, muskrats, rodents, chickens and whitetail deer.
What they look like
Part of the lynx family, bobcats typically grow to two to three times the size of a house cat, about three feet long. Compared to a dog’s face, theirs is much shorter. Distinctive features include tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears, a white patch on the back of their black ears and a short bobbed tail with a black tip and white underneath. Their coats are commonly brownish or grayish but can exhibit many color patterns.
Other bobcat facts
According to Apgar:
- Bobcats don’t hibernate; their home range is between four and 20 miles.
- Hunting or trapping bobcats in Connecticut is illegal, and you can’t have one as a pet.
- Bobcats don’t mate with domestic cats.
- They are less likely to harbor rabies than raccoons, skunks or bats.
- In Connecticut, their predators are primarily limited to groups of coyotes, male fisher cats, birds of prey and humans (car accidents).
To dissuade bobcats, the internet says don’t leave out pet food or birdseed. Bring your pets in at night. Eliminate brush and vegetation that may provide hiding places. Make loud noises if they approach you and back away. Hot pepper spray and air horns are also effective deterrents.
If you spot a bobcat, Apgar encourages you to report it on the state DEEP site. Google “DEEP bobcat sighting.” The state is building a database to understand them better. To report bobcat roadkill, phone the DEEP at 860-424-3011.