This month, by the requests of some of my faithful readers, I’m going to focus on the wild cats of the world. I figured I would start out small, and end January with the big cats. This Papaw’s Note is about two of our smaller native American cats, the lynx and the bobcat.
Like other wild cats, they are hunters. They both eat birds
and small mammals like mice and squirrels. Bobcats may even occasionally eat
small deer. One of the favorite meals for a hungry lynx is the snowshoe hare, a
type of northern rabbit.
At first one might think they are the same cat, because they
do look a lot alike. So to help you out, here are some ways to tell them apart.
Lynx:
·
They are
found in the northern forests. You will usually find them in Canada and the
states that border Canada, like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Maine.
·
They have
longer legs and much larger paws. This helps them walk through the deep
snow. Their larger paws work like snow shoes to keep them from falling into the
deep snowdrifts.
·
They are
usually larger than bobcats. Their long legs make them look taller.
·
They have
noticeable ear tufts.
·
The have solid
black tip on their tails.
Bobcat:
·
They have
shorter legs and smaller paws.
·
With their
shorter legs, they look somewhat smaller that the lynx.
·
They have
much shorter ear tufts.
·
Their tails have black on top and white on
the underside.
One time Memaw and Papaw went to the town of Tucson, Arizona
on a short vacation. We were almost next to Mexico! Right outside of our casita
(Spanish for “small house”) we saw a bobcat just lying in the yard! He was cute,
but we didn’t get too close! If they get angry or scared they could hurt you. Its
best to watch them from a distance. At one of the schools in Arizona we even
had a family living in the storm drains. The babies were very shy and liked to
play hide and seek.
Here is a short video to help you learn more about these two
special cats. I hope you liked our kitty talk!
Love Papaw.
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