Most bobcats live in the United States, but they are also found in southern Canada and all the way into northern Mexico. They are just as much at home in deserts and sagebrush as they are in forests or on rocky hillsides, though they always need somewhere to hide. Shy and stealthy, as well as well-camouflaged, they are seldom seen. Hikers might be startled to see one standing nearby, watching them, then suddenly disappearing.
The bobcat is a pretty animal, looking much like a large domestic cat. Its short (bob) tail and tan-colored fur, patterned with darker brown and black markings, immediately identify it. Its underside is white with black markings. An adult is 12 to 24 inches high and up to 50 inches long, including its tail. Like some pet cats, the bobcat is a great climber, and it can even swim if it has to, though it avoids that if possible.
The bobcat is a wonderful hunter. It stalks its victim slowly until it is close enough to make a lightning dash and then pounces on its victim. Rabbits are a favorite food, and farmers appreciate the bobcat’s help in keeping their numbers down, as well as rats, mice and gophers and even deer. (In some places, the presence of bobcats is encouraged to help keep the deer population under control.) Unwary birds are frequently caught, and even fish are scooped out of shallow water. Although its piercing howls at night have frightened campers, the bobcat does not attack humans.
The mother bobcat has one to six kittens in a hidden den or a hollow log in April or May. She does all the work of raising them alone, including gathering food and training. When the kittens are born, they are blind for nine or ten days. At three to five months old, they begin traveling and hunting with their mother. They hunt their own food by that fall, and soon after they usually leave to begin living on their own. The mother may have another litter in September. The mother trains the kittens to hunt by taking them with her, and they learn to do as she does. After she catches something, she may make them work a bit for their food, turning in circles while they run around her to “catch” the food in her mouth. This helps train them for their own hunting experiences.
Our lead verse says that we are to be followers (or imitators) of God, as dear children, and to walk in love as Christ loved us. Bobcat kittens have the same nature as their mother, and they learn from her how they are to act. If you are a Christian, you have the same nature as God has, as His dear child. You will learn in the Bible how your new nature wants to act by seeing how God acts and how the Lord Jesus loves us.
Did You Know?
The bobcat is a great climber, and it can even swim if it has to.
Messages of God’s Love 10/22/2023