Bobcat & Mallard | Mammal | Bird | Lynx Rufus | Wild Duck | Yellowstone National Park

Bobcat & Mallard | Mammal | Bird | Lynx Rufus | Wild Duck | Yellowstone National Park.

"To see the drama of life in its age-tested relationships is a privilege that becomes harder and harder for the human occupants of our...crowded world to enjoy." - Paul L. Errington, Journal of Wildlife Management

This scene of a bobcat stalking a duck unfolded along the banks of the Madison River in late January. Natural sounds only: no narration.

Credit:
National Park Service (NPS)
NPS Video
USFWS Photo
USFWS
NPS/Neal Herbert

Bobcats get their name from their short “bob” tails. Their fur is usually grey to brown with spots appearing on the legs, tail, and sides. Like many felines, bobcats are crepuscular, which means they are most active at dawn and dusk. They are adventurous carnivores and can eat everything from deer to mice. They have also been known to eat pets such as cats or small dogs.

They are solitary animals who maintain territories using scent markings and claw markings on vegetation. Bobcats only come together during mating season, and both males and females may mate with multiple other bobcats. Males are not involved in raising the kittens.

Bobcats don’t usually have many predators, but they can be killed by cougars. Kittens may also be eaten by coyotes, foxes, or predatory birds. Bobcats live throughout the continental United States and are not considered threatened or endangered. They are considered small wildcats but are larger than most housecats.

Did You Know?

Bobcats are athletic predators, and can leap forward 3 meters (about 9 feet) when attacking prey. They can also swim and climb trees! Bobcats can purr just like house cats. Wild cats are divided into two categories: big cats and small cats. Small cats can all purr! Small cats and house cats purr by vibrating the hyoid bone (a bone which connects the tongue to the roof of the mouth).

The mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, is a medium to large dabbling duck and is the most abundant duck species in North America. This species is found in all flyways and in almost any freshwater habitat. The mallard drake is often called a "greenhead" due to its distinctive iridescent green head. The females are known for making the quintessential "quack" of a duck.

Mallards occur year-round throughout North America, but most individuals are migratory and breed in the northern United States and Canada and winter in the Southern United States and Mexico. Most of the breeding population occurs in the Prairie Pothole Region of the north-central United States and central Canada.

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