Though the bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it hunts insects, chickens, geese and other birds, small rodents, and deer.

[22] The populations east and west of the Great Plains were probably separated during Pleistocene interglacial periods due to the aridification of the region.

Its coat is variable, though generally tan to grayish-brown, with black streaks on the body and dark bars on the forelegs and tail.

[38] A morphological size comparison study in the eastern United States found a divergence in the location of the largest male and female specimens, suggesting differing selection constraints for the sexes.

It makes its home near agricultural areas, if rocky ledges, swamps, or forested tracts are present; its spotted coat serves as camouflage.

[46] The bobcat's range does not seem to be limited by human populations, but by availability of suitable habitat; only large, intensively cultivated tracts are unsuitable for the species.

[38] The animal may appear in back yards in "urban edge" environments, where human development intersects with natural habitats.

In the 20th century, it was thought to have lost territory in the US Midwest and parts of the Northeast, including southern Minnesota, eastern South Dakota, and much of Missouri, mostly due to habitat changes from modern agricultural practices.

[50] In early March 2010, a bobcat was sighted (and later captured by animal control authorities) in a parking garage in downtown Houston.

[38] In northern and central Mexico, the cat is found in dry scrubland and forests of pine and oak; its range ends at the tropical southern portion of the country.

[28] Bobcat activities are confined to well-defined territories, which vary in size depending on the sex and the distribution of prey.

[38] One study in Kansas found resident males to have ranges of roughly 21 km2 (8 sq mi), and females less than half that area.

[45] In line with widely differing estimates of home range size, population density figures diverge from one to 38 bobcats per 26 km2 (10 sq mi) in one survey.

Another study observed a similar ratio, and suggested the males may be better able to cope with the increased competition, and this helped limit reproduction until various factors lowered the density.

[60] The bobcat is an opportunistic predator that, unlike the more specialized Canada lynx, readily varies its prey selection.

For slightly larger animals, such as geese, ducks, rabbits and hares, it stalks from cover and waits until prey comes within 6 to 11 m (20 to 35 ft) before rushing in to attack.

While larger species, such as cattle and horses, are not known to be attacked, bobcats do present a threat to smaller ruminants such as pigs, sheep and goats.

In Yellowstone a large number of kills (15 of 20) were elk calves, but prey up to eight times the bobcat's weight could be successfully taken.

On the rare occasions a bobcat kills a deer, it eats its fill and then buries the carcass under snow or leaves, often returning to it several times to feed.

Research in Maine has shown little evidence of competitive relationships between the bobcat and coyote or red fox; separation distances and territory overlap appeared random among simultaneously monitored animals.

[69] With the Canada lynx, however, the interspecific relationship affects distribution patterns; competitive exclusion by the bobcat is likely to have prevented any further southward expansion of the range of its felid relative.

Cougars and gray wolves can kill adult bobcats, a behavior repeatedly observed in Yellowstone National Park.

[77] Like other Lynx species, bobcats probably avoid encounters with bears, in part because they are likely to lose kills to them or may rarely be attacked by them.

[82] Kittens may be taken by several predators, including great horned owls, eagles, foxes, and bears, and other adult male bobcats.

The animal is regulated in all three of its range countries, and is found in a number of protected areas of the United States, its principal territory.

[91] A study in coastal Southern California has shown bobcat populations are affected by urbanization, creation of roads, and other developments.

After trapping the rabbit in a tree, the bobcat is persuaded to build a fire, only to have the embers scattered on its fur, leaving it singed with dark brown spots.

[99] The Mohave people believed dreaming habitually of beings or objects would afford them their characteristics as supernatural powers.

[100] European-descended inhabitants of the Americas also admired the cat, both for its ferocity and its grace, and in the United States, it "rests prominently in the anthology of ... national folklore.

"[101] Grave artifacts from dirt domes excavated in the 1980s along the Illinois River revealed a complete skeleton of a young bobcat along with a collar made of bone pendants and shell beads that had been buried by the Hopewell culture.