According to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, the state is home to 2 wild cat species. They are the eastern bobcat and the Canada lynx.
Mountain lions have been extirpated from the state of Vermont since 1881. At that time, the last known mountain lion was shot and killed near the town of Barnard.
Two other large predators that reside in Vermont are black bears coyotes.
Eastern bobcats in Vermont (Lynx rufus)
The bobcat, which is also known as the red lynx, or the bay lynx is a North American wild cat. Biologists believe that both the bobcat and the Canada lynx are descendants of Eurasian lynx whose ancestors crossed into North America via the Bearing Sea land bridge.
Where do Bobcats Live?
Bobcats reside only in North America. Their range begins in Canada. Central British Columbia is the furthest north that bobcats live. Their range extends south through most of the United States and down into central Mexico.
According to the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, bobcats live in most areas of the state. People rarely see them though because they are mostly a nocturnal or crepuscular animal.
Compared to Canada lynx which thrive in deep snow country, bobcats struggle more in the snow due to the fact that they cannot walk on top of it like lynx can. A lynx’s oversized feet function like snowshoes keeping it on the snow’s surface. On the other hand, compared to lynx, bobcats have small feet that tend to sink into the snow. If the snow is too deep and powdery, it reduces their mobility along with their ability to catch prey.
Other than their inability to cope with deep snow, bobcats are pretty versatile and tend to utilize all the different habitats within their range. You can find bobcats anywhere from areas with coniferous forests, to swamps, and semi forested mountain areas. You’ll even find them in agricultural areas and or urban areas.
The sizes of home ranges for bobcats in Vermont differs between males and females. Adult males utilize around 36 square miles. On the other hand, adult females need around 18 square miles.
Bobcats often use rock crevices as den sites but may also den in the cavity beneath an overturned stump or beneath a blown down tree,
What do Bobcats Look Like?
An adult bobcat is slightly smaller than an adult Canada lynx.
A bobcat is 2 to 3 feet long and weighs about 15 to 35 pounds. Adult male bobcats are quite a bit larger than the females.
These animals have a “bobbed,” short tail with black bands on its upper surface. Their tail also has a black tip on its upper surface but not the back. Their fur is usually gray to brown, with mottled dark spots that range from black to dark brown on their bodies. They also have black stripes on their inner forelegs and tail.
From a side view, you will notice that a bobcat is slightly higher at the rump than at the shoulders. Bobcats and lynx have long hind legs in proportion to their forelegs.
Bobcats have black-tufted ears. In other words, they have short ear tufts of hair that poke up above their ears that are black at the tips. The backs of their ears, below the black tips, are black. In the center of the black of each ear, they have a single white spot. This gives the impression of a false eye on the back of each ear.
They also have a whiskered face that seems broader due to their long ruffled facial hair and whiskers. Their eyes are yellow with round black pupils.
In 2020, film footage of a rare black bobcat was taken near Danville Vermont. See These melanistic bobcats have all the markings that non-melanistic ones do. They are manifest as darker black spots on top of lighter black or dark grey.
What do Bobcats Eat?
Despite their comparatively small size, bobcats are aggressive, tough predators. At times, particularly during the winter, they prey on animals that are much larger than they are, such as deer. However, their regular diets mainly consist of small mammals, reptiles, birds, and carrion. When they take up residence close to a residential area, their menu might occasionally also include small pets.
They even prey on venomous snakes when the opportunity arises despite not being immune to the venom. They accomplish this by using their quickness to pin the snake’s head down with a paw, after which they dispatch the snake with a quick bite to its spine behind the head. Vermont only has one species of venomous snake and that is the timber rattler. Timber rattlesnakes are very rare in Vermont.
Reproduction and Life Cycle for Eastern Bobcats in Vermont
Bobcats mate anywhere from late March to early April. During the breeding season a male bobcat may mate with multiple females. If they successfully mate, the gestation period for bobcats is 60 days.
After breeding the male and female go their separate ways. The female takes all responsibility for the selection of a den site and the rearing of the young.
In New England, the average bobcat litter size is 3 kittens. Bobcat kittens are born with their eyes sealed just like domestic cats are. However, their eyes will open when they are a week to 10 days old. By the time they are 2 months old they will have replaced their spotted baby fur with a haircoat similar to what their parents have.
By mid-July the kittens begin to venture out with their mothers to fine tuning their survival skills. Their training may last into the early winter. By mid-winter, the kittens strike out on their own.
Female bobcats reach sexual maturity at 1 year of age while males reach sexual maturity at age 2.
In the wild, bobcats live 7 to 10 years. See
Canada Lynx in Vermont (Lynx canadensis)
Vermont is 1 of three New England states that have Canada lynx. The other 2 are Maine and New Hampshire.
Canada lynx were also historically present in New York. However there is presently no evidence of any breeding lynx populations within the state.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Canada lynx in the contiguous United States as threatened under the federal endangered species act.
Where do Canada Lynx Live?
Canada lynx favor the boreal forest in the mountainous regions of Canada, the northern United States, and the southern Rockies. The U.S. states that have Canada lynx are Alaska, Colorado, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Maine.
The green mountain state has never had a large stable lynx population. In fact, for a time, it was thought that the animals were mostly extirpated from the state. However, in recent years that has changed. From 2003 forward lynx sightings in Vermont has been on the increase.
Chris Bernier is a furbearer wildlife biologist employed by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. He’s also their lynx survey leader. He says that most of the confirmed lynx sightings in the state have been taking place in the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, which is in the Nulhegan Basin in Vermont’s northeast kingdom.
Bernier further states that he believes that there is now a reproducing resident population of Canada lynx in the Nulhegan Basin that is a result of animals dispersing from Maine’s lynx population.
The survey team has also been looking for signs of lynx in the nearby Victory Basin Wildlife Management areas. So far, they haven’t had any luck, though. Source
Lynx in Southern Vermont
While the majority of Vermont lynx sightings are in the northeast, in 2016, 2 different photos came to light of lynx in southern Vermont. The first was of a lynx in someone’s backyard in Londonderry. The second was an intriguing photo that was taken by a wildlife camera at a highway crossing under Route 9 in Searsbury, VT. It appears to show a Canada lynx using the highway crossing. It was discovered by a University of Vermont student who was documenting the movements of black bears at the wildlife crossing.
Quoting Chris Bernier of the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, “This is very exciting news for Vermont,” “The fact that this animal chose to travel such a long distance demonstrates why it is vitally important to maintain healthy and well-connected habitat in Vermont. We were thrilled to see the animal using a wildlife underpass that was created for the express purpose of allowing animals to pass safely under the road.” See
Male lynx disperse out long distances, so the chances are that the two photos were of the same male lynx.
Canada Lynx Characteristics
What does a Canadian lynx look like? The Canadian Lynx shares a lot of physical similarities with its close relative, the bobcat. But the two also share some differences. First of all, lynx are slightly larger than bobcats. Adult lynx are up to 35 1/2 inches (90 cm) long and 26 inches (65 cm) tall. Additionally, they weigh up to 37 and a half pounds (17 kg). Lynx have stubby tails. While the tail of a bobcat is short or “bobbed,” a lynx’s tail is shorter still.
Lynx have stubby tails. While the tail of a bobcat is short or “bobbed,” a lynx’s tail is shorter still. They don’t have the black bands on the top side of their tails that bobcats have. However, they do have a completely black-tipped tail. The black tip on a lynx’s tail surrounds the entirety of the tail as if the tail had been dipped in black paint. On the other hand, a bobcat’s black tip is only on the top side of the tail.
Canada Lynx have long thick grey fur in the winter. By summertime, they have shed their grey fur and have a thinner, shorter reddish brown hair coat instead. Their color is more uniform than that of bobcats. While bobcats have black spots and mottled coloration over their entire body, Lynx are solid tan except for some mottled darker brown spots on their legs.
Canadian Lynx have triangular pointed ears with black backs and long tufts of black hair on the tips. The hair tufts are much longer than a bobcat’s. They also have drooping flared facial ruff of white hair on the sides of their face beneath their chin.
Their eyes are green with round black pupils.
Lynx have long legs in proportion to their bodies, with their hind legs being slightly longer than their front ones. This gives their body a peculiar, downhill-sloped appearance.
Canadian Lynx have evolved to prey on snow-shoe hares. They have almost comical-looking oversized fur-covered paws. They put their larger feet to good use. Their large paws function like snowshoes, allowing them to travel and hunt on top of the snow. Canadian lynx feet can keep almost twice as much weight from sinking into the snow as those of a bobcat. This is why they range over the deep snow country of northern Canada while bobcats do not.
Reproductive Behavior and Life Cycle for Canadian Lynx
Breeding season for the Canadian Lynx begins in late February and goes to early April. Lynx females are mono estrus, meaning they have one estrus cycle per year. Females mate with only one male and are in heat from 1 to 10 days. On the other hand, males may mate with multiple females.
Reproduction in Canadian Lynx is directly affected by the abundance or lack of their prey animals. If they successfully mate, their gestation period lasts 56 to 70 days.
The pregnant female will typically make a maternal den beneath rock ledges, a fallen log, in the root tangle of a fallen log, or a thick tangle of brush.
Lynx kittens are sightless for the first two weeks of their life. By the time they’re 5 weeks old, they’ll be big enough to leave the den. Their mothers wean them when they’re around 10 weeks old, and at 10 months, they’ll go out on their own. Source
Female Lynx are sexually mature at 10 months old, but they generally don’t come into heat for at least another year. However, in periods of prey abundance, yearling females will breed and give birth.
Male Lynx reaches maturity at around 33 months of age.
The lifespan of a Canadian lynx is somewhere between 10 and 20 years in the wild. They can live over 20 years in captivity. See
What do Canada Lynx Eat?
Mice, squirrels, ptarmigan, grouse, ducks, deer, Dall sheep, and caribou make up a portion of a Canadian lynx’s diet in regions where these prey animals are available. However, over most of their range, their preferred food is Snowshoe hares.
Lynx and Snowshoe Hare
The Canada lynx is very dependent on snowshoe hares as a food source. In some areas, hares comprise 75 percent of their total diet. In fact, their population density is directly correlated with the snowshoe hare population.
Canadian and Alaskan Canadian Lynx and snowshoe hares go through what is known as the Lynx-Snowshoe Hare Cycle. When food sources are abundant for hares, their population increases very rapidly since they can have several litters per year. When hare populations are at their peak, there can be as many as 1500 animals per square kilometer” 3913 per square mile”. At this time, the population of Lynx and other predators are also at their peaks.
