What the HECK is this??? Oh! A Bobcat!

Jennie@ifish · 07-06-2003, 06:16 AM

A football field away, I could tell that this CAT, I believe, was about 30 to 40 pounds.

It was dark colored, and had a tail!

Now, you tell me... Too big to be a housecat.

Bobcats don't have tails, and cougars aren't that dark!

What could it have been?

Jen

Edit: Found out that Bobcat Do have tails! It was a bobcat! Cool! Except now I am REALLY worried about my animals. He was so cool and sly... just very cat like, slow, and man are they bulky creatures for cats! Very muscular. I sure love my new Nikon binoculars!
J

[ 07-06-2003, 07:30 AM: Message edited by: Jennie@ifish ]

highdesertdrifter · 07-06-2003, 06:49 AM

Jen if you saw a tail a football field away i dought you were looking at a bob cat. I guess one could call that small thing on the back end a tail. I would guess you were looking at a cougar kitten.And 30 to 40 lbs would be a huge coast bobcat. H.D.

Jennie@ifish · 07-06-2003, 08:09 AM

I was using my binocs, but I suppose it could have been a cougar cub, but dark colored?

STGRule · 07-06-2003, 08:55 AM

My husband saw a chocolate brown cougar in broad daylight in the middle of the highway on Mt. Hood one time. I think they can be all shades of brown.

fishisabonus · 07-06-2003, 10:39 AM

I watched one from my living room. It was a young cougar. It's face looked more like a bob cat, still had some spots, but it turned around and a big long tail whipped up into the air. I described it to the neighbor and he said it was a cougar kitten. This is the right time of year to be seeing them too. Later that day, I went down to the creek to investigate. I had to see if there was any sign. There was, a bunch of hair stuck to the log it had been sunning on!

crabbait · 07-06-2003, 02:31 PM

From this picture, you can see that bobcats do, indeed have tails:

If what you saw had a longer tail than this (like as long as its body), it was not a bobcat. The size you described is large for a bobcat but size estimation is a difficult thing.

Bobcats are not rare on the coast, they are just secretive. I have seen a couple during daylight hours (bowhunting) and a few more while driving the backroads after nightfall. Guess how close the closest bear is....... :shocked:

[ 07-06-2003, 03:34 PM: Message edited by: crabbait ]

Fish_N_Russ · 07-06-2003, 02:51 PM

I live on a research forest and have seen both Bobcats and Cougars here.

Bobcats can have short tails, Cougars will have tails as long as their body. The Bobcats we've seen around here are only about 2-3 times the size of a normal cat.........30 to 40 pounds sounds more like a Cougar.

Also a few of the Cougars we have seen around here are more reddish brown colored, which might be Lynxs' although those are extremely rare (the last official report of one in Corvallis area was 20 plus years ago).

ICHTHYDEMON · 07-06-2003, 08:48 PM

I shot a Bobcat a few years back while deer hunting. Before we skinned it out we weighed it and it came out at 26lbs. If you think it was 30-40lbs it could have been a big Bobcat.

nitrobass · 07-06-2003, 09:04 PM

Just to agree with most posts here.....That would be one BIG bobcat! I've seen quite a few bobcats and cougars in the woods. Bobcats intrigue me, cougars scare me. I'd definitely keep an eye on my pets if you have one of those things in the area.

jawbreaker · 07-06-2003, 10:47 PM

Thats one thing I've never seen in the wild yet is a Bobcat. Here kitty kitty kitty. :shocked: