|
Featured Wildlife ...
 Bobcat
(lynx rufus)
Imagine pulling into your driveway and having a young bobcat run out to your car. What would you do?
Well, a couple of families in the Whatcom-Skagit area had just that
experience in late summer 07 with the same bobcat. One of the families contacted Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
(NWRC) to find out if there could be something wrong with the cat. A volunteer went to the location and tried to find the
cat, but didn’t have any luck. The next day, another staff member and some summer interns went out, but they couldn’t catch the cat either.
A live trap was left with one of the concerned families. They put food in the trap and, viola, caught the cat within an hour.
The bobcat was obviously very hungry. It was admitted to Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for evaluation.
Bobcats are found all across North America and have been very successful in adapting to a variety of habitats – from the marshy
lowlands of Georgia to the mountains and evergreen forests of Washington State. They are generally very secretive and hunt around
dawn and dusk. They prey upon rabbit-sized animals normally, but the list of what they will hunt is long – it includes, mice,
squirrels, birds, deer and carrion.
The bobcat’s fur is spotted above with some stripes across their legs and their short stubby tail. Their underlying coat color
can range from reddish to a light brown or gray. They have tufts on the tips of their ears. The adult bobcat stands about 20
to 30 inches tall and is about 3-4 feet long.
Back at the wildlife center, volunteers and wildlife care staff examine the bobcat that was brought in. It was a young female
and about 2 months old. Although she was young, her defense mechanisms were well intact. She growled, spit, slashed out and
tried to bite. She was underweight and only weighed about three pounds. She was starving. Over the next several weeks,
the bobcat was given medicine and shots to help her grow stronger. She ate very well and gradually gained weight. When
this female bobcat is full grown, she will weigh between 14 and 27 pounds.
One of the goals of wildlife rehabilitation is to help wildlife return to the wild. With some species, such as the bobcat,
rehabilitators have to be careful to not have the animal get used to humans. If the animal indentifies with us too much,
they can get into trouble later. They might not learn to hunt properly and become too bold around people. Realizing that
a single bobcat kitten was at risk, the wildlife center contacted another center in Seattle. They had a young bobcat too!
It was agreed that we’d send the Whatcom-Skagit bobcat to the larger facility. We knew that in the course of playing
with the other bobcat, she’d become stronger, learn to hunt and continue to identify with her own kind.
Our hope is for this bobcat to get back to the wild. And one day, when she is about 2 years old, she’ll have her own
set of kittens (2-4). She’ll be able to teach them to hunt and take care of themselves and they’ll stay with her for almost
a year. And she will try to keep her kittens safe from foxes, owls, dogs, humans and other bobcats.
|
Adobe
Reader is needed for some of the links. 
