Both the bobcat and lynx have short, rounded tails. While the bobcat takes its name from its short tail, the lynx actually has an even stubbier tail. A bobcat's tail is banded with black stripes, and the lynx's tail has a black tip.
Bobcats tend to be shy and avoid people. Rarely, a bobcat can become aggressive, and bobcats with rabies can attack humans. Bobcats with rabies tend to have erratic behavior, be lethargic and foam at the mouth. Lynx will attack if chased, cornered He said people should still avoid the animal and keep their distance as they are known to attack if they feel chased or cornered.
All lynx fiercely defend themselves when cornered, and although they typically avoid people, they may attack a human if threatened. With its padded, furry claws, the lynx can quietly sneak up on its prey. In the dense hardwood forests of eastern Canada , the Cougar prowls — or might prowl. The Cougar is Canada's largest and most powerful cat. Cougars were once found all over North America.
They still survive in Western Canada but no one knows how many, if any, Eastern Cougars remain. They have long legs, large paws, and tufted ears similar to those of their larger relative, the Canada lynx. Most bobcats are brown or brownish red with a white underbelly and short, black-tipped tail.
Of special interest is the unusually high number of black or melanistic cougars reported in the province. Black cougars have been reported 42 times in Nova Scotia and 49 times in New Brunswick. In South America where the black form is endemic, it is considered very rare. The Canada lynx is found in northern and mixed boreal forests across Canada and Alaska. In recent years, a greater presence of cougars in central and eastern Canada has been confirmed through trapping and DNA evidence.
In , after a four year study, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed the presence of cougar in that province based on tracks, DNA and scat samples. Quebec confirmed the existence of cougar in that province in , adding two sightings to the hair samples retrieved in from a car that had collided with a cougar. There are many reports of cougar sightings in Nova Scotia each year, but no scientific proof of their presence in that province.
Cougar have only begun to move as far north as Yukon. It is believed that they are following the deer populations that are slowly moving north. Cougar are the ghosts of the forest and very few have ever been spotted in Yukon. If you see what you think is a Cougar, look for a long tail with a black tip. If the tail is absent you are likely looking at a lynx, not a Cougar.
Source: www. Whitehorse cougar photos, tracks, excite Yukon biologist — Evidence suggests big cats are breeding in territory. Confirmed sightings and occasional specimen records became more frequent after that. By a survey of Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment field staff indicated that Cougar were distributed throughout southern Saskatchewan and into the boreal transition region.
The majority of these sightings were thought to represent non-breeding animals. Breeding was confirmed only from the Cypress Hills in extreme southwest Saskatchewan and neighboring Alberta. Saskatchewan is currently preparing its first Cougar management plan.
Cougar are fully protected from hunting and trapping in the province. Landowners may kill Cougar on their own land to protect livestock or where human safety is threatened, provided the kill is reported and the carcass turned in to a Ministry office. The new plan will not immediately propose additional management actions, but it will outline potential future options for a managed harvest. Objectives of the study Collect baseline data on cougar densities, territory size, dispersal, and survival Measure cougar predation pressure on mule deer populations and other prey Examine the role of patchy disturbances e.
Cougar Fact Sheet. Safety in Cougar Country. Last week around pm I saw a very large cat crossing the road in a residential area in Kitchener Waterloo. It looked maybe twice as large as a house cat, gray with tabby stripes. Could a bobcat be in an urban area like this? We do have lots of rabbits, some foxes, coyotes and the occasional deer here in the city.
It could very easily be a bobcat as they seem to be doing an excellent job of colonizing Canada! However there are no bobcats that are gray with tabby stripes. They are all beige or brown with distinctive spots. Your pussy cat was likely a large domestic cat, and yes I have seen some near bobcat size.
That is, people can still hunt them? The rules vary greatly between provinces, and they are the ones that set the laws. In other provinces there is quota system for trapping them and there may be different hunting laws in different areas for each province.
Bobcats, to my knowledge can be hunted across Canada. I am quite certain there was a lynx in my back yard in PEI. You could notify your local fish and wildlife association who may be keeping track of lynx appearances. The bobcat population in Calgary is growing rapidly, judging by the number of sightings in the last year or so. They are no threat to humans of any size and are going a wonderful job of keeping our mice and squirrel populations under control!
Hi there. I write a weekly wildlife column for a small newspaper in Westport Ontario. Are you able to share any reports or other information that I could include in my article?
Cougars returning to the province is fascinating and always an intriguing subject. Our organization deals only with small wild cats, and thus has no information on the larger species. Your best bet is probably The Cougar Network as their map shows multiple sightings in Ontario, and they would have the details. My first thought was that it was a bobcat due to its size. However it had a longer tail and its colour was a uniform rusty brown. How can you tell the difference between a bobcat and a juvenile cougar?
A juvenile cougar, old enough to have lost his spotting pattern, still has a long tail like the adults. Either cat is likely in that location but if it had a long tail, it was a cougar.
I was in Stratford, Quebec a few months back and saw what looked like a bigger cat crossing a frozen lake. Bobcat or Lynx? At that location it could be either cat.
Lynx come down from the north while bobcats come up from the south. Great sighting though! Crossed the road within m in front of her and stared straight at her the whole time.
Fortunately she was about to be picked up for the day. Unfortunately no one knows what the normal range of the cougar is in Canada. This big cat requires a mixed habitat that includes young forests with thick vegetation for hunting small prey, and older forested areas with a full canopy and good cover for building their dens. The Cougar , also known as the Mountain Lion or Puma in the USA, should not be in Ontario at all, as they are found mainly further to the south and west of Ontario, mainly west of the Rocky Mountains, but there have been sightings in Southern Ontario, which are probably escaped animals.
A full grown male Cougar can measure almost 8 ft from nose to tail and weighs in at an average of lbs. We always love hearing from our readers, so if you have seen one of the Big Cats in Southern Ontario, please write to us and let us know all the details!
Please tell us where and when you sighted the animal, what it was doing when you observed it, what time of day this was, and any other additional information that you think our readers will find interesting.
Defenders of Wildlife. The Bobcat Information. Muskoka Region Information. Have you seen a big cat? Paw prints? We'd love to hear about it, and see a picture if you have one! Close Help. Entering your story is easy to do. Just type!
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Needless to say my pup won't be allowed out unattended any more! They were found in our backyard near Tamworth, Ontario. We set up a trail-cam but haven't seen … Potential Cougar Sighting on in Fonthill We had just passed under the highway 20 overpass on the this evening around 10 pm when I was startled by an animal standing in the left lane of the … Big Cat in the Kawarthas Its interesting to read recent comments as a lot online is quite old and my experience was this past summer.
In I found a massive cat print in mid-May … Identification please! I finally caught it on a trail camera. Two years ago I witnessed a quick sighting of what appeared to be a younger adult Cougar here … Bobcat, Lynx or Cougar?
These tracks were spotted in our woods in Flamborough, Ontario, just north of Hamilton on December 27, Does anyone recognize these prints? Not sure what they are though, if anyone knows please comment below. Habitat The bobcat can inhabit wild, broken, mountainous country, timbered areas interspersed with old fields and partly open farmland, spruce thickets, cedar swamps, and open areas of hardwoods mixed with stands of hemlock, white pine or other conifers.
The bobcat does better in agricultural and more populated areas than the lynx. It may also move into regions in which logging has produced openings in extensively forested terrain. This species may also be found in the American deserts, if suitable cover exists. Dens are usually made under vine-covered logs, in hollows of decomposing windfalls, in root depressions, or in small, natural rocky caves or recesses.
Moss and dried leaves are sometimes brought to the shelters. Food and Feeding Behaviour Like the lynx, the bobcat depends on hares and rabbits. It will also resort to mice, squirrels, porcupines, mink, skunks, muskrat, moles, shrews, chipmunks, birds and their eggs, snakes, fish, crustaceans, insects, carrion and some plant matter. In agricultural areas, the bobcat sometimes preys on chickens, pigs, sheep and calves.
In deep snow, it can pull down and kill a weakened deer. The bobcat prefers its established hunting routes, but will deviate from them to follow prey.
It has several hunting styles: it may creep along steadily from cover to cover until close enough to pounce, lie motionless in a tree, watching and listening for unwary prey passing beneath, or crouch in ambush on a trail. Habits The bobcat is mainly nocturnal, but it may hunt during the day, particularly in winter.
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