Don’t be fooled by my short tail, I’m very powerful when hunting!

This is a kitten with eye-catching whiskers on its face. If it were not for its short and thick tail, it would seem no different from a domestic pet cat. It is because of this tail that it is called a short-tailed cat.

Whether in terms of "appearance" or "clothing", it is difficult to distinguish between a bobcat and a pet cat. So, is it a pet cat?

Fierce character, a lynx

If you see through the truth, you might as well change your sight. Let's first turn our gaze from the "clothing" and whiskers to the body shape. If you look closely, you will find that there are at least two differences between bobcats and pet cats: one is the tail. The bobcat's tail is short and thick, while the pet cat's tail is thin and long. In particular, the bobcat's thick tail, which is no longer than 15 cm, is the most iconic, and its name also comes from this. The second is the difference in height and weight. Bobcats are larger than pet cats. Males can reach 1.2 meters in length and weigh about 15 kilograms, while females are slightly smaller. Pet cats are usually half the height and weight of bobcats.

In addition, in terms of personality, pet cats are gentle, while short-tailed cats are quite fierce. They can survive in places where people are relatively concentrated, and livestock and poultry are often delicacies in their mouths. What's more ferocious is that they will actively attack people.

From a taxonomic point of view, both bobcats and cats belong to the family Felidae, but they are of different genera. The bobcat belongs to the genus Lynx, while the cat belongs to the genus Felis. This is the essential difference between the two.

"Born Hunter", flexible in switching between ambush and tracking

As a wild animal, the bobcat has superb hunting techniques and skills, so it is called a "natural hunter." Ambush and stalking are its common hunting techniques, and these two methods can be flexibly switched when used.

Usually, the bobcat uses ambush when hunting small animals such as rodents, birds, fish, and insects. It first finds a place where prey often appear, and quietly lies next to a tree to "pretend to sleep", but its ears and eyes are always working. A squirrel hops into the ambush circle, and the bobcat is ready to catch it. When the squirrel gradually approaches, the bobcat suddenly attacks, and the squirrel has no time to react and is confused, and has become the bobcat's prey.

When catching big prey, the bobcat usually follows the prey. When it is 6-20 meters away from the prey, it will choose the right time to chase it. One day, the bobcat found a hare and followed it quietly, slowly shortening the distance between the two. When it was only 7-8 meters away from the hare, which was the best range for the bobcat to attack, it kicked its hind legs and rushed to the hare like an arrow, knocked it down, and bit it hard without letting go. The hare died before it could struggle.

There are also some myths and legends about bobcats among the people. For example, among the Mohave tribe in America, bobcats are listed as symbols of supernatural spirits along with mountain lions. People believe that if you dream of them, you will gain more hunting skills than other tribes. For Europeans, the reason they love bobcats is that they are fierce and graceful.

Nowadays, due to factors such as human hunting, the population of short-tailed cats has dropped sharply. It is now listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Fauna and Flora, prohibiting hunting and international trade.