Bobcats on the prowl as mating season comes to Sonoma, Mendocino counties

As the sun rises, for an all-too-brief moment, the Pacific Ocean glows with the pastels of the early morning. Rocks, just offshore, glow as if lit from within. In a meadow, camouflaged by the golden grasses, sits a bobcat looking for her breakfast. Her head turns as she hears a gopher tunneling underground. The bobcat rises, crouches, waits, and then leaps into the air, landing on the exact place an unlucky gopher has appeared.

Bobcats are year-round residents of most northern states, and are seen often in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. While bobcats were thought to be nocturnal, they are often seen in the daylight hours, hunting in grassy meadows along the coast. Named for their short “bobbed” tail, bobcats are about twice the size of a domestic cat.

In the recent fires, as bobcats are extremely mobile, they would have fled affected areas. And they might not be seen in the scorched lands until their food source, gophers and rabbits, have returned. Residents may see more of them, as they search out new territory.

Bobcats are carnivorous and are fierce hunters. Here they seem to relish gophers. They will patiently wait for their prey to appear, using all their senses. When a gopher appears, these cats will leap on it in a flash, jumping as far as 10 feet. Bobcats also hunt for rabbits, rodents, birds and even bats.

If you leave chickens unprotected, a bobcat can wreak havoc, killing one after the other. Domestic cats, if allowed to roam outdoors, are also fair game. Chicken farmers have learned to protect their chickens by installing wire walls and roofs. A bobcat is an excellent climber.

Bobcat coats are quite beautiful and unique to each animal. Unfortunately, bobcat pelts are prized as coats by people in other parts of the world. Many people don’t realize there is a hunting season for bobcats in California.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website states hunting of bobcats is allowed between Oct. 15 through Feb. 28, with five bobcats allowed per hunting permit.

Commercial bobcat trapping in California, which was allowed for several centuries, was banned in 2015. Bobcats are considered non-game animals, and the reason for trapping them was solely for the value of their pelts. Trapping was found to be inhumane, as the bobcat could suffer for days.

Most people are filled with wonder at the sight of one of these beautiful animals. Mark Simkins and Kitty Wolfe have had frequent sightings of bobcats near their home in Manchester, Mendocino County.

“I usually see bobcats in the early morning or early evening at dusk,” said Simkins. “We have actually watched them catch gophers just outside my office window and catch rabbits in our front garden.”

Simkins and Wolfe were visited one day by three bobcat kittens. The mother usually keeps her young hidden away in her den, bringing food to her offspring. To see kittens was a rare treat.

One day an adult bobcat laid down in the grass in the middle of the day.

“The highlight of my day was when I was able to snap this photo of the beautiful bobcat settled down in our field, appearing to look me in the eye,” said Simkins.

Bobcats mate in the winter, but the male soon departs. The female lives alone in a den nestled in a tree cavity or a cave. She has several other smaller dens, which might consist of several rocks. She will have between one and three kittens in the spring, and she will move the kittens to her various dens on a regular basis. This way she hides the scent of her kittens from predators.

A bobcat mother will nurse her kittens for the first two months of their lives. Then she will begin bringing food back to the den. At about 5 months old, the kittens will begin hunting for themselves. When the young bobcats are between 8 and ?11 months old, the mother will expel them from her area.

Each adult bobcat has their own territory. A female will have up to ?5 square miles that she protects as her own; she never allows another female in her territory. A male can have a territory four to five times the size of a female’s, but several males can overlap each other’s land.

The markings on bobcats are quite striking. The back of their ears has a white mark. The end of their short tails, measuring about 6 inches long, has black bands on top and is tipped with white.

Their ears have tufts of hair on top.

Bobcats are seen enjoying the sun, resting in meadows with their eyes closed and their faces lifted toward the warmth. To know that bobcats can survive and even thrive amongst us is something to be prized.

“When we first retired here in 2012, we were in complete awe at the wildlife surrounding us,” said Wolfe. “We feel blessed.”

The earliest members of the Lynx genus evolved in Africa about 4 million years ago. They then spread to Eurasia, crossed the Bering Strait, and arrived in North America. The bobcats we see today are descendants from these Old World colonizers.

Our privilege, and our responsibility, is to continue to learn how to live with the wildlife that was here before us.

Jeanne A. Jackson is the author of Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year, a month-by-month look at nature on the Sonoma/Mendocino Coasts.