Editing Bobcat (section)

===Predators===
[[File:Bobcat skull Pengo.jpg|thumb|Skull showing large curved canines]]

The adult bobcat has relatively few predators. Rarely, however, it may be killed in interspecific conflict by several larger predators or fall prey to them. [[Cougar]]s and [[Gray wolf|gray wolves]] can kill adult bobcats, a behavior repeatedly observed in [[Yellowstone National Park]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=Akenson, H. |author2=Akenson, J. |author3=Quigley, H. |title=Winter Predation and Interactions of Wolves and Cougars on Panther Creek in Central Idaho |work=Wildlife: Wolves |publisher=[[Yellowstone National Park]] |url=http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/wolves.htm |access-date=June 24, 2007 |archive-date=April 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070420174741/http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/wolves.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Palomares, F. |author2=Caro, T. M. |name-list-style=amp |date=1999 |title=Interspecific killing among mammalian carnivores |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=153 |issue=5 |pages=492–508|doi=10.1086/303189 |pmid=29578790 |bibcode=1999ANat..153..492P |s2cid=4343007 |hdl=10261/51387 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> [[Coyote]]s have killed adult bobcats and kittens.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Fedriani, J. M. |author2=Fuller, T. K. |author3=Sauvajot R. M. |author4=York, E. C. |name-list-style=amp |year=2000 |title=Competition and intraguild predation among three sympatric carnivores |doi=10.1007/s004420000448 |journal=Oecologia |volume=125 |pages=258–270 |issue=2|pmid=24595837|bibcode=2000Oecol.125..258F |hdl=10261/54628|s2cid=24289407 |url=https://scholarworks.umass.edu/context/nrc_faculty_pubs/article/1109/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Gipson, P. S. |author2=Kamler, J. F. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |title=Bobcat killed by coyote |journal=Southwestern Naturalist |volume=47 |pages=511–514 |doi=10.2307/3672519 |issue=3 |jstor=3672519 |url=https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7jXe61ZN_z_Y2VmOGZmM2UtMDUyMy00NmZlLWFhZDctNjc3YzVjMWYxMmNh/edit?hl=en&pli=1 |access-date=2013-02-25 |archive-date=2013-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029090035/https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7jXe61ZN_z_Y2VmOGZmM2UtMDUyMy00NmZlLWFhZDctNjc3YzVjMWYxMmNh/edit?hl=en&pli=1 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Knick, S. T. |year=1990 |title=Ecology of bobcats relative to exploitation and a prey decline in southeastern Idaho|jstor=3830671 |journal=Wildlife Monographs |volume=108 |issue=108 |pages=1–42}}</ref> At least one confirmed observation of a bobcat and an [[American black bear]] ''(Ursus americanus)'' fighting over a carcass is confirmed.<ref name="Bobcat vs Bear over Deer Carcass">{{cite web|title=Bobcat vs Bear: Competition over deer carcass|url=http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php?topic=13788.0|publisher=Hunting Washington Forum|access-date=November 1, 2008|archive-date=October 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020061702/http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php?topic=13788.0|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=CAP/><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Krofel, M. |author2=Kos, I. |author3=Jerina, K. |year=2012 |title=The noble cats and the big bad scavengers: effects of dominant scavengers on solitary predators |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=66 |issue=9 |pages=1297–1304|doi=10.1007/s00265-012-1384-6 |bibcode=2012BEcoS..66.1297K }}</ref> Bobcat remains have occasionally been found in the resting sites of male [[fisher (animal)|fisher]]s.<ref>Aubry, Keith and Rale, Catherine (July 2006) [http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/olympia/wet/team-research/for-carnivor/aubryandraley-fisher-report-july2006.pdf Ecological Characteristics of Fishers (''Martes pennanti'') in the Southern Oregon Cascade Range] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924074836/http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/olympia/wet/team-research/for-carnivor/aubryandraley-fisher-report-july2006.pdf |date=2015-09-24}}. USDA Forest Service – Pacific Northwest Research Station, Olympia Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Olympia, WA, U.S.</ref> [[American alligator]]s (''Alligator mississippensis'') have been filmed opportunistically preying on adult bobcats in the southeast United States.<ref name="Gator eats bobcat">{{cite web|title=Gator eats bobcat |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/feltonphoto/8164136944/|publisher=Flickr|access-date=November 7, 2012|date=November 7, 2012 |archive-date=August 2, 2013|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802045318/http://www.flickr.com/photos/feltonphoto/8164136944}}</ref><ref name="Alligator nearly eats bobcat">{{cite web|title=Sneaky alligator nearly eats bobcat |url=http://www.kens5.com/video/featured-videos/Sneaky-alligator-nearly-eats-bobcat--156459515.html |publisher=Kens5 |access-date=June 1, 2012 |archive-date=January 11, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111043956/http://www.kens5.com/video/featured-videos/Sneaky-alligator-nearly-eats-bobcat--156459515.html}}</ref> [[Golden eagle]]s (''Aquila chrysaetos'') have been reportedly observed preying on bobcats.<ref>{{cite web|title=Golden Eagle, Life History, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url=http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/golden_eagle/lifehistory|access-date=2013-07-08|archive-date=2019-04-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428183720/https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Golden_Eagle/lifehistory|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Lynx rufus vs. Canis latrans.jpg|thumb|left|Bobcat defending a kill from a pair of [[coyote]]s]]
Kittens may be taken by several predators, including [[great horned owl]]s, [[eagle]]s, [[fox]]es, and [[bear]]s, and other adult male bobcats.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bobcats |url=https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/00608/wdfw00608.pdf |access-date=18 March 2022 |work=Living with Wildlife |publisher=[[Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife]] |archive-date=19 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519164555/https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/00608/wdfw00608.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> When prey populations are not abundant, fewer kittens are likely to reach adulthood.<ref name=mort/> 

Diseases, accidents, hunters, automobiles, and starvation are the other leading causes of death. Juveniles show high mortality shortly after leaving their mothers, while still perfecting their hunting techniques. One study of 15 bobcats showed yearly survival rates for both sexes averaged 0.62, in line with other research suggesting rates of 0.56 to 0.67.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fuller |first=Todd K. |author2=Stephen L. Berendzen|author3=Thomas A. Decker|author4=James E. Cardoza |date=October 1995 |title=Survival and Cause-Specific Mortality Rates of Adult Bobcats (''Lynx rufus'') |journal=American Midland Naturalist |volume=134 |issue=2 |doi=10.2307/2426311 |jstor=2426311 |pages=404–408}}</ref> [[Cannibalism (zoology)|Cannibalism]] has been reported; kittens may be taken when prey levels are low, but this is very rare and does not much influence the population.<ref name=mort/>

The bobcat may have external [[Parasitism|parasites]], mostly ticks and fleas, and often carries the parasites of its prey, especially those of rabbits and squirrels. Internal parasites (endoparasites) are especially common in bobcats.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hiestand |first1=S.J. |last2=Nielsen |first2=C.K. |last3=Jiménez |first3=F.A. |title=Epizootic and zoonotic helminths of the bobcat (''Lynx rufus'') in Illinois and a comparison of its helminth component communities across the American Midwest |journal=Parasite |volume=21 |page=4 |year=2014 |doi=10.1051/parasite/2014005 |pmid=24521984 |pmc=3923260 |doi-access=free}}</ref> One study found an average infection rate of 52% from ''[[Toxoplasma gondii]]'', but with great regional variation.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Kikuchi, Y. |author2=Chomel, B. B. |author3=Kasten, R. W. |author4=Martenson, J. S. |author5=Swift, P. K. |author6=O'Brien, S. J. |year=2004 |title=Seroprevalence of ''Toxoplasma gondii'' in American free-ranging or captive pumas (''Felis concolor'') and Bobcats (''Lynx rufus'') |journal=[[Veterinary Parasitology (journal)|Veterinary Parasitology]] |volume=120 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1016/j.vetpar.2004.01.002 |pmid=15019138}}</ref> One mite in particular, ''[[Lynxacarus morlani]]'', has to date been found only on the bobcat. Parasites' and diseases' role in the mortality of the bobcat is still unclear, but they may account for greater mortality than starvation, accidents, and predation.<ref name=mort>{{cite book |author1=Feldhamer, G. A. |author2=Thompson, B. C. |author3=Chapman, J. A. |date=2004 |title=Wild Mammals of North America |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-7416-1 |pages=769–770}}</ref>