mikecallahan's Identifications

Observed on a trail camera in Caledon State Park, VA.

Donald Linzey’s The Mammals of Virginia: "The bobcat is a medium-sized, short-tailed member of the cat family. It has a short, broad face set off by a ruff of fur on the sides of the face extending from the ear down to the lower jaw. The prominent, pointed ears possess relatively short and inconspicuous ear tufts. The backs of the ears are blackish, and each has a centrally-located white spot. The dorsal pelage is brownish to pale yellowish interspersed with gray and consists of mixture of tawny hairs tipped with black and white. The chin and underparts are whitish. Dark spots are usually present on the whitish belly. The tail is short with several blackish bars on the dorsal surface just in front of the tip. There are five toes on each front foot and four on each hind foot, all of which possess long, sharp, strongly recurved, retractile claws. Females possess six mammae. Adult bobcats are generally between 660 and 1,106 mm in total length including a tail 100 to 165 mm long. Males normally weigh between 5.4 and 13.5 kg, while females weigh between 4 and 9 kg."