65: Bobcat
I write to you from Arapahoe, Ute, and Cheyenne land. I am interested in learning about the different animals that live in the place where I was born. Before we start with today’s animal, I want to emphasize that biological classification as understood by western society has its roots in racism, sexism, and transphobia – here’s a good explainer about why.
The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is one of the elusive felines of Colorado – if you’re a human. They are rarely seen and an urban or suburban sighting is enough to make the news (then again I once saw a story on the biggest local news channel about a cow getting onto the highway, so maybe that’s a low bar), but they are a species of least concern according to the IUCN Red List and have resisted hunting for their distinctive coats for many decades. Even though we are not often graced by their visible presence, they maintain a healthy, resilient population in the state and from southern Canada into Oaxaca, Mexico.
Bobcats can be identified by their distinctive “bobbed” tail, shorter than that of most felines, and by black markings on their legs. They eat lots of things – including household pets left outside, so probably a good idea to bring your chihuahua in at night – and can even hunt pronghorns and deer! If you are out hiking and find smallish cat tracks, chances are they are from a bobcat (unless Cobra the Adventure Cat, who Nori and I met in Evergreen, was out and about). Lynxes have much larger tracks despite having a similar body size overall.
Here’s a few fun videos of a bobcat near a house in Colorado, and a video of bobcats flirting and the noises they make. By the way, that twitter user is a great one to follow for all kinds of Colorado wildlife.
Bobcats feature in many Native stories, especially from the Southwest, with the character of Bobcat often interacting with the arch-trickster Coyote. This is part of a long tradition in North America: 2000 years ago, people in what is today western Illinois buried a young bobcat in the same type of funeral mound they usually reserved for humans. The young bobcat, less than a year old at the time of its death, was adorned with a necklace (or possibly a collar?) made from bear teeth and seashells, and is the only known ceremonial burial of a wild cat anywhere in the archaeological record.* The whole story about this bobcat burial is pretty fascinating and I recommend reading this article to learn more.
*All those Egyptian cat mummies were domesticated 😊