Bobcat Facts for Kids
Lynx rufus · LINKS ROO-fus
A wild cat of North America with a short tail.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 8.8 to 33 lb4 to 15 kg1
- 📏 30 in to 4.1 ft76 cm to 1.2 m1 long
- 🎂 12 years12 years1
- 🍽️ meat
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
A bobcat is a wild cat with a short tail and spotted fur. It lives in many kinds of places in North America. It eats rodents and rabbits.
Bobcats live across North America, from southern Canada to southern Mexico, in forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland. They eat only meat, mostly rodents and rabbits.
The bobcat is a wild cat named for its short, bobbed tail. It lives across North America, from southern Canada down to southern Mexico, and it does well in many places: forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland. It eats only meat, mostly rodents and rabbits, and sometimes large ground birds, small deer or reptiles. In the wild, a bobcat can live for many years.
How big is a bobcat?
Bobcat in numbers
| Length | 30 in to 4.1 ft76 cm to 1.2 m1head and body plus tail, added |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 18 to 23 in45 to 58 cm1at the shoulder |
| Weight | 8.8 to 33 lb4 to 15 kg1 |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 12 years12 years1up to; in the wild |
| What it eats | rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles |
| Where it lives | forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America |
| What kind | Mammals |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)2 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- A bobcat lives in forests, deserts and mountains.
- It is named for its short, bobbed tail.
- It eats mostly rodents and rabbits.
Compare the bobcat
Friends and neighbours
Cougar
Coyote
RaccoonThree questions
Books about the bobcat, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the bobcat for free.
For teachers
Use this animal in class: its facts are on this page, and the cards print from it.
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Lynx rufus (bobcat), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, Bobcat (Q131907), checked 30 October 2026.