Editing Bobcat (section)

=== Hunting and diet ===
[[File:Bobcat having caught a rabbit.jpg|thumb|With a rabbit]]
The bobcat is able to survive for long periods without food, but eats heavily when prey is abundant. During lean periods, it often preys on larger animals, which it can kill and return to feed on later. The bobcat hunts by stalking its prey and then ambushing with a short chase or pounce. Its preference is for mammals weighing about {{cvt|1+1/2|-|12+1/2|lb|kg|sigfig=1|order=flip}}. Its main prey varies by region: in the eastern United States, it is the [[eastern cottontail]] and [[New England cottontail]], and in the north, it is the [[snowshoe hare]]. 

When these prey species exist together, as in New England, they are the primary food sources of the bobcat. In the far south, the rabbits and hares are sometimes replaced by [[cotton rat]]s as the primary food source. Birds up to the size of an adult [[trumpeter swan]] are also taken in ambushes while nesting, along with their fledglings and eggs.<ref name="Smith">Smith, J. W. (1988). ''Status of Missouri's experimental Trumpeter Swan restoration program''. In Proc. and Papers of the 10th Trumpeter Swan Society Conf., edited by D. Compton, 100–103. Maple Plain, MN: The Trumpeter Swan Society.</ref> The bobcat is an [[generalist and specialist species|opportunistic]] predator that, unlike the more specialized Canada lynx, readily varies its prey selection.<ref name="CAP" /> Diet diversification positively correlates to a decline in numbers of the bobcat's principal prey; the abundance of its main prey species is the main determinant of overall diet.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Baker |first=L. A. |author2=Warren, R. J.|author3=Diefenbach, D. R.|author4=James, W. E.|author5=Conroy, M. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2001|title=Prey Selection by Reintroduced Bobcats (''Lynx rufus'') on Cumberland Island, Georgia |journal=The American Midland Naturalist |volume=145 |issue=1 |pages=80–93 |doi=10.1674/0003-0031(2001)145[0080:PSBRBL]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=85890281 }}</ref>

The bobcat hunts animals of different sizes, and adjusts its hunting techniques accordingly. It hunts in areas abundant in prey and waits lying or crouching for victims to wander close. It then pounces and grabs the prey with its sharp, retractable claws. For slightly larger animals, such as geese, ducks, rabbits and hares, it stalks from cover and waits until prey comes within {{cvt|20|to|35|ft|m|order=flip|0}} before rushing in to attack. Less commonly, it feeds on larger animals, such as young [[ungulate]]s, and other carnivores, such as primarily female [[Fisher (animal)|fisher]]s, [[gray fox]]es, [[American mink]]s, [[American marten]]s, [[skunk]]s, [[raccoon]]s, small [[dog]]s and domestic [[cat]]s. It also hunts [[rodent]]s such as [[squirrel]]s, [[Mole (animal)|mole]]s, [[muskrats]], [[mice]], but also [[bird]]s,<ref name=Whitaker/> small [[shark]]s,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Bobcat drags shark out of Florida surf |first=B. C. |last=Howard|website=National Geographic |date=2015 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150408-bobcat-shark-photo-florida-beach-animals-science/ |access-date=2023-05-24 |archive-date=2015-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411164936/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150408-bobcat-shark-photo-florida-beach-animals-science/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[insect]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Donadio, E. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Buskirk, S. W. |year=2006 |title=Diet, morphology, and interspecific killing in Carnivora |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=167 |issue=4 |pages=524–536 |doi= 10.1086/501033|pmid=16670995 |bibcode=2006ANat..167..524D |s2cid=24479345 |url=}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Farias, V. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Fuller, T. K. |author3=Wayne, R. K. |author4=Sauvajot, R. M. |year=2005 |title=Survival and cause-specific mortality of gray foxes (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus'') in southern California |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=266 |issue=3 |pages=249–254 |doi=10.1017/S0952836905006850}}</ref> Bobcats occasional hunt [[livestock]] and [[poultry]]. While larger species, such as [[cattle]] and [[horse]]s, are not known to be attacked, bobcats do present a threat to smaller [[ruminant]]s such as [[pig]]s, [[sheep]] and [[goat]]s. According to the [[National Agricultural Statistics Service]], bobcats killed 11,100 sheep in 2004, comprising 4.9% of all sheep predator deaths.<ref>{{Cite book |author= |date=2005 |title=Sheep and Goats Death Loss |publisher=[[National Agricultural Statistics Service]] |url=http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1628 |access-date =December 27, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-date =October 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006163731/https://usda.library.cornell.edu//}}</ref> However, some amount of bobcat predation may be misidentified, as bobcats have been known to [[scavenge]] on the remains of livestock kills by other animals.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neale |first1=J. C. C. |last2=Sacks |first2=B. N. |last3=Jaeger |first3=M. M. |last4=McCullough |first4=D. R. |s2cid=31260042 |date=1998 |title=A Comparison of Bobcat and Coyote Predation on Lambs in North-Coastal California |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=62 |issue=2 |jstor=3802346 |pages=700–706 |doi=10.2307/3802346}}</ref>

It has been known to kill [[deer]] or [[pronghorn]], and sometimes to hunt [[elk]] in western North America, especially in winter when smaller prey is scarce, or when deer populations become more abundant. One study in the [[Everglades]] showed a large majority of kills (33 of 39) were [[fawn]]s. 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.<ref name=Everglades>{{cite journal |last=Labisky |first=R. F. |author2=Boulay, M. C. |date=1998 |title= Behaviors of Bobcats Preying on White-tailed Deer in the Everglades |journal=The American Midland Naturalist |volume=139|issue=2 |pages=275–281 |doi=10.1674/0003-0031(1998)139[0275:BOBPOW]2.0.CO;2  |s2cid=85199402}}</ref> It stalks the deer, often when the deer is lying down, then rushes in and grabs it by the neck before [[throat clamp|biting the throat]], base of the skull, or chest. 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.<ref name=Whitaker/>

The bobcat prey base overlaps with that of other midsized predators of a similar [[ecological niche]]. 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Major |first=J. T. |author2=Sherburne, J. A. | year=1987 |title=Interspecific relationships of Coyotes, Bobcats, and Red Foxes in western Maine |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=51|issue=3 |pages=606–616|doi=10.2307/3801278 |jstor=3801278}}</ref> However, other studies have found bobcat populations may decrease in areas with high coyote populations, with the more social inclination of the canid giving them a possible competitive advantage.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Litvaitis, J. A. |author2=Harrison, D. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=1989 |title=Bobcat-coyote niche relationships during a period of coyote population increase |doi=10.1139/z89-170|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=67 |issue=5 |pages=1180–1188|bibcode=1989CaJZ...67.1180L }}</ref> With the Canada lynx, however, the [[Interspecific competition|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.<ref name=CanLynx/>