Cat sighting!!!!!!!!!

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cp2000

cp2000

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Ashland NH
Howdy!!!!!!!!

I was driving south down I-91 in Vt. today around 3:20pm about 2.5 miles from exit 7 when I saw something odd in the grass median. At first I thought it was trash or whatever but upon a better look it was a large cat(wheather it was a bob cat or lynx is beyond me). The guy I was hiking with today also saw it. I was a bit taken aback because I know how rare it can be to see a cat in NE let alone on the side of the highway. It seemed to just be waiting for a lull in the traffic so it could do its crossing. I have a medium sized hound dog mix and minus the long legs this kitty was about as big he is.

Can anyone explain to me what the difference is between a linx and a bob cat.

A spiffy sighting indeed.

Chad.........................


:eek: :eek: :cool:
 
Both the bobcat and the Canada lynx are lynx.

They are both similar in appearance, but the bobcat generally has smaller ear tufts and does not have the big cheek tufts like the Canada lynx does. The bobcat is usually smaller and has more markings. The Canada lynx is usually more of a solid lighter color than the bobcat and it has a solid black tipped tail. The bobcat has black patches on the top of it's tail.

I expect the bobcat is the more common in Southern Vermont. The two species have been known to breed together as well. I suppose they do that just to be sure we can't tell them apart. :D
 
Probably a bobcat from the location and the behavior. They are much better suited to hangin' with humans, so long as it's on their terms. Lynx are extremely chary of humans and are usually seen only in less settled areas, mostly the backcountry.

A lynx will have long tufts on its ears that can be seen from a distance. A bobcat has less pronounced ear tufts and shows definitely spotted fur. The legs on a lynx are often longer, and its tail has a totally black tip, but it's the ears that are probably the most reliable field mark for those fleeting glimpses.

I saw a lynx once swimming way down a lake far from my canoe; I thought at first it was a moose calf in the water because of the ears. (Yes, it was swimming across a lake. No, I wasn't under the influence of anything other than the thrill of the moment. And yes, I've got a photo to prove it.)
 
Lynx are extremely rare, bobcat are relatively common. The two are pretty similar is size and prey, but have many significant differences.

Canadian Lynx
Bobcat

They are amazing to see, aren't they?

-dave-
 
yaint never seen one of them. that must have been so cool to see. when i first saw your post i thought there was finally a verifiable sighting of a mountain lion. i wonder if that will happen...
 
Kevin Rooney said:
They're similar in size and appearance, but usually the lynx is a bit bigger. Here's a link to the lynx , and here's one to the bobcat.

Both are secretive, and the lynx is rather rare in the US.

Did the cat you saw resemble one of these?

While I've seen bobcats a few times, I've only seen a lynx once, and that was in Washington State, in a remote area of the Gifford Pinchot NF.
Click to expand...


More like the bobcat. I only saw it for a few secs. and after Googling, it seems slim to nill(and slim just left town) that it would have been a Lynx.

Nonetheless I had a blast seein' it............
 
hikerfast said:
yaint never seen one of them. that must have been so cool to see. when i first saw your post i thought there was finally a verifiable sighting of a mountain lion. i wonder if that will happen...
Click to expand...


Welp ? #2

Whats the difference between the first two cats and a mount. lion.
 
Bobcats

Previous posters are correct, the lynx is extremely rare in the lower 48. They are a "protected" species in all of New England, i.e. they cannot be hunted or trapped. On the other hand, bobcats are fairly common, even in southern New England. I have pictures of two bobcats taken in a backyard in suburban Bloomfield CT, next town over from Hartford. Very cool animals.

Stu
 
Saturday I saw fresh bobcat tracks in the col between First Sisiter and Middle Sisiter of Chocorua. I was following many rabbit tracks, then in came tracks of a big bounding cat, a very interesting story in the snow. :)
 
How the lynx and the bobcat diverged into different species in North America is an interesting story. If I recall correctly, the protospecies was more lynx-like but even bigger. As postglacial forests began to develop south of the ice sheets, some lynx moved into the woods and started taking advantage of smaller prey resources (e.g. red squirrel and birds instead of snowshoe hare). Over time, and with subsequent glaciation, the two populations became distinct and stopped interbreeding. Now, with glacial retreat and afforestation, the two populations once again share some habitat -- though the bobcat is found throughout Pennsylvania, for example, whereas the lynx just barely makes it into northern New England (compared to its immense range across Canada).

It's true that the bobcat is in the genus Lynx (Lynx rufus as opposed to Lynx lynx), which makes it a lynx according to some -- including the Encarta encyclopedia. To me, that's disingenous, misleading, or against common sense. Tigers are Panthera tigris and african lions are Panthera leo, but to say that a tiger is a lion (or vice versa) stretches things farther than this taxonomic splitter prefers.
 
Bobcats can get pretty big, I saw one a hunter killed in Washington county, Me that was over 50lbs! The museum of science in Boston has a stuffed Eastern Mountain lion that's huge, over 200lbs. They're more lean and wiry than bobcats and have a long tail.
 
el-bagr said:
Tigers are Panthera tigris and african lions are Panthera leo, but to say that a tiger is a lion (or vice versa) stretches things farther than this taxonomic splitter prefers.
Click to expand...
But they can interbreed and produce
Ligers and Tigons.

:)

-dave-
 
I actually had a Bobcat run down the road in front of me 2 nights ago less than a 1/4 mile from my house. It is not uncommon at all to see them where I live in Northern N.Y. I have spent many, many, days in the Woods working, hunting, hiking, etc. and I have never seen a Bobcat in that setting, but I have seen them a number of times while driving down the road. It is certainly a treat for your eyes.
 
Ligers. and Tigons and Beers, oh, my!!

Be very afraid :eek: :D
 
Cats On Carter Ridge

On the Carter hike at last winter's Gathering we followed cat tracks for about a quarter mile between Middle and South Carter. It was really cool.

They ran right down the middle of the trail and were very clean and easy to identify in the fresh snow. They seemed to be about 12 hours old.

cb
 
I was with a group camping and hiking to Treadway Mountain in the Dacks, a couple of us saw a blur dash by so suddenly and fast that we didn't know what it was until we saw clear evidence of the tracks in some mud. Would not have expected a bobcat to appear like that unless it was as surprised to see us as we were to see it ... and we were a group not exactly operating silently.

On a snowshoe hike near Indian Pond off the Greenville-Katahdin Ironworks Road in Maine, I tracked prints of a bobcat tracking or chasing a snowshoe hare, whose paw prints are similar to bigfoot. Determined to find evidence of the outcome of this chase, I excitedly followed the dueling tracks through a bushwhack which included a couple of spruce traps. After one spruce trap too many I ended my pursuit. Never did know whether bobcat was successful in it's pursuit but silently wished him well as I munched my trail mix.
 
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