# Bobcat (*Lynx rufus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/bobcat  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a mammal in the order Carnivora, family Felidae and genus Lynx, also called the bay lynx, red lynx, howling lynx and common American wild cat. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and nocturnal carnivore with an adult body mass of 8.9 kg, and our sources report up to 9.4 kg. Its main foods include snowshoe hare, cottontail rabbit, rabbit, american red squirrel, muskrat, wild turkey, canada goose, fish, insect and carrion. Gestation lasts 66 days, litters average 2.5 young with up to 3, and it has 1 litter per year; the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 8.9 kg – 9.4 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 26.8 years – 32.3 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | american marten, american red squirrel, black-tailed prairie dog, canada goose, carrion, cottontail rabbit and 20 more |
| Habitat | forest |
| Gestation | 60 days – 70 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2.53 – 3 |
| Age at maturity | 21 months – 2.37 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Felidae
- genus: Lynx
- species: *Lynx rufus* (Schreber, 1777)

Synonyms: *Felis rufus*, *Lynx rufus escuinapae*, *Lynx rufus oaxacensis*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is a bobcat?

The bobcat is a mammal of the order Carnivora and the family Felidae, placed in the genus Lynx.

### How heavy is a bobcat?

An adult Bobcat has a body mass of 8.9 kg, and our sources report up to 9.4 kg. This places it in the medium size class.

### What does a bobcat eat?

The bobcat is a carnivore whose main foods include snowshoe hare, cottontail rabbit, american red squirrel, black-tailed prairie dog, muskrat, wild turkey, fish and carrion.

### Is the bobcat endangered?

No. The bobcat is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a bobcat live?

Our sources give a lifespan of 26.8 years for the bobcat, with values up to 32.3 years.

### How many young does a bobcat have?

A bobcat litter averages 2.5 young, with up to 3, and it has 1 litter per year after a gestation of 66 days.

### When does a bobcat reach sexual maturity?

A bobcat reaches sexual maturity at 2.1 years, with reported values from 1.7 to 2.4 years.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Bobcat (Lynx rufus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bobcat