Have you ever seen a bobcat? If so, I suspect you are among the few North Dakotans that have. So, it might come as a surprise to learn that they reside in the state, particularly in the west.
The bobcat’s native range covered much of Southern Canada, the United States, and into Mexico. Vernon Bailey, in his "A Biological Survey of North Dakota" from 1926, stated that they were fairly common in the western part of the state and noted that the badlands, with brushy bottomlands provided good bobcat habitat. He also cited Theodore Roosevelt’s report of a bobcat raiding his chicken coop in 1883.
More recently, Robert Seabloom in his "Mammals of North Dakota" listed bobcats as uncommon in the eastern part of the state, but fairly common in the west, although they are not often observed.
Bobcats stand around 2-3.5 feet tall with males averaging around 24 pounds, and females being a little smaller. Their rather short black tails with a white tip resemble bobbed tails, thus the common name “bob” cats.
Rabbits are a favored prey item for bobcats, as are small mammals. I remember helping a fellow graduate student many years ago with his study on food habitats of bobcats in South Dakota which involved analyzing the stomach contents of bobcat carcasses. A rabbit’s foot is often considered to be a good luck charm, but we found a lot of “unlucky” rabbit’s feet in those stomachs.
Bobcats have a preference for rough country with scattered areas of good cover such as would be provided by shrubby or wooded areas. Although they may be active at all times, they are more active and apt to be observed around sunrise and sundown. The size of their home range can vary considerably. Seabloom notes it can vary from around three to 23 square miles, depending upon prey availability and other factors.
So, if you are out and about, particularly in the western part of the state around sunrise or sunset, consider occasionally finding a good spot to look over the countryside and taking a few minutes to scan the landscape for animal activity. You are apt to see something moving out there, and with a little luck maybe even a bobcat.
