Editing Bobcat (section)

===Reproduction and life cycle===
[[File:Bobcat-Texas-9110.jpg|thumb|Bobcat kittens in June, about 2–4 months old]]
[[File:Bobcat with offspring on rock - DPLA - 56a48f19c80a1c574e53f79ea35e21b4.jpg|thumb|Adult bobcat with two kittens]]

The average lifespan of the bobcat is seven years but rarely exceeds 10 years. The oldest wild bobcat on record was 16 years old, and the oldest captive bobcat lived to be 32.<ref name=mort/>

Bobcats generally begin [[mating|breeding]] by their second summer, though females may start as early as their first year. [[Sperm production]] begins each year by September or October, and the male is fertile into the summer. A dominant male travels with a female and mates with her several times, generally from winter until early spring; this varies by location, but most mating takes place during February and March. The pair may undertake a number of different behaviors, including bumping, chasing, and ambushing. 

Other males may be in attendance, but remain uninvolved. Once the male recognizes the female is receptive, he grasps her in the typical felid neck grip and [[Animal sexual behavior#Felidae|mates with her]]. The female may later go on to mate with other males,<ref name="Whitaker" /> and males generally mate with several females.<ref name="tx">{{cite book |author1=Fischer, W.C. |author2=Miller, M. |author3=Johnston, C.M. |author4=Smith, J.K. |year=1996 |title=Fire Effects Information System |publisher=Diane Publishing |isbn=978-0-7881-4568-1 |page=83}}</ref> During courtship, the bobcat's vocalizations include screaming and hissing.<ref name="wal">{{cite book |author=Nowak, R.M. |date=1999 |title=Walker's Mammals of the World |volume=1 |edition=Sixth |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-0-8018-5789-8 |chapter=''Felis rufus'' (bobcat) |pages=808–810 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T37sFCl43E8C&pg=PA809}}</ref> Research in Texas revealed that establishing a home range is necessary for breeding; studied animals without a home range had no identified offspring.<ref name="Texas">{{cite journal |last=Janečka |first=J.E. |author2=Blankenship, T.L. |author3=Hirth, D.H. |author4=Tewes, M.E. |author5=Kilpatrick, C.W. |author6=Grassman, L.I. Jr.  |date=2006 |title=Kinship and social structure of Bobcats (''Lynx rufus'') inferred from microsatellite and radio-telemetry data |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=269 |issue=4 |pages=494–501 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00099.x}}</ref> The female has an [[estrous cycle]] of 44 days, with the estrus lasting five to ten days. Bobcats remain reproductively active throughout their lives.<ref name="cons" /><ref name="tx" />

The female raises the young alone. One to six, but usually two to four, kittens are born in April or May, after roughly 60 to 70 days of [[gestation]]. Sometimes, a second litter is born as late as September. The female generally gives birth in an enclosed space, usually a small cave or hollow log. The young open their eyes by the ninth or tenth day. They start exploring their surroundings at four weeks and are weaned at about two months. Within three to five months, they begin to travel with their mother.<ref name=wal/> They hunt by themselves by fall of their first year, and usually disperse shortly thereafter.<ref name=Whitaker/> In Michigan, however, they have been observed staying with their mother as late as the next spring.<ref name=tx/>