🐆 Bobcat vs Cougar 🐆
The cougar is about twice as long as the bobcat. The cougar weighs about 8 times as much as the bobcat.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐆 Bobcat | 🐆 Cougar |
|---|---|---|
| Size The cougar is about twice as long as the bobcat. | 30 in to 4.1 ft76 cm to 1.2 m1 | 4.9 to 8.2 ft1.5 to 2.5 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The cougar weighs about 8 times as much as the bobcat. | 8.8 to 33 lb4 to 15 kg1 | 64 to 265 lb29 to 120 kg2 |
| Lives The cougar usually lives about one and a half times as long as the bobcat. | 12 years12 years1 | 18 to 20 years18 to 20 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles | mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer, and smaller animals too |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America | mountains, forests, grassland and deserts across the Americas, mostly in wild, quiet places |
Which one? Bobcat or cougar
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the bobcat or the cougar yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
10 things to know about Bobcat vs Cougar
- The bobcat: A wild cat of North America with a short tail.
- The cougar: A big, plain-colored cat of the Americas, also called a mountain lion.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are mammals.
- The cougar is about twice as long as the bobcat: 2 against 1.
- The cougar weighs about 8 times as much as the bobcat. That is 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the cougar.
- The cougar usually lives about one and a half times as long as the bobcat. Usual lifespans: 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the cougar.
- Both eat meat. The bobcat eats rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles; the cougar eats mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer, and smaller animals too.
- The bobcat lives in forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America. The cougar lives in mountains, forests, grassland and deserts across the Americas, mostly in wild, quiet places. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The bobcat: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The cougar: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐆 Bobcat
- A bobcat lives in forests, deserts and mountains.
- It is named for its short, bobbed tail.
- It eats mostly rodents and rabbits.
🐆 Cougar
- A cougar is also called a mountain lion.
- It once lived across more of the Americas than any other land mammal.
- It eats mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer.
Questions kids ask about Bobcat and Cougar
Which is heavier, bobcat or cougar?
The cougar weighs about 8 times as much as the bobcat. That is 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the cougar.
Which lives longer, bobcat or cougar?
The cougar usually lives about one and a half times as long as the bobcat. Usual lifespans: 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the cougar.
What do bobcat and cougar eat?
Both eat meat. The bobcat eats rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles; the cougar eats mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer, and smaller animals too.
Where do bobcat and cougar live?
The bobcat lives in forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America. The cougar lives in mountains, forests, grassland and deserts across the Americas, mostly in wild, quiet places. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do bobcats eat cougars?
The bobcat eats rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles. Cougars are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the cougar is about twice as long as the bobcat.
Do cougars eat bobcats?
The cougar eats mostly hoofed animals such as elk and deer, and smaller animals too. Bobcats are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Who would win, bobcat or cougar?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/bobcat-vs-cougar
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Lynx rufus (bobcat), checked 10 November 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Puma concolor (cougar, mountain lion), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.