There are three cats native to Northern Ontario

By Al Lowe
Contributor

There are three cats native to Northern Ontario. The Mountain Lion may or may not be here - there are lots of reports, but no real sightings. The Lynx is certainly here, a grey wraith in the deep forest. The third one, the Bobcat, is certainly here, and in most of the provinces and states as well.
The Bobcat, or Wildcat, whose scientific name is Lynx rufus is a larger version of the domestic cat in many ways. His weight may go from 15 to 30 pounds (largest on record is 59 pounds), he has an absurdly short tail, long legs and pointy ears. Fur is usually reddish with darker mottling. All in all, he is a very presentable cat.
Don't be mislead by appearances. This cat is not a friendly animal. Bobcat kittens are among the cutest animals in the world, but they become spitting, clawing demons if you try to touch them. There are very few cases of Bobcats being tamed, although it has been tried thousands of times. Even Audubon himself referred to a 10 day old kitten as a "most spiteful, growling, snappish little wretch."
Most of the other North American cats have retreated from civilization, but the Bobcat has adapted to it. Within a few miles of even our largest cities these animals still thrive. Most people never see them and never know that they are around. This is largely because the Bobcat does most of his hunting at night, moving silently as a shadow, and disappearing at the slightest hint of man.
In settled areas, Bobcats have a bad name for taking chickens, ducks, geese and so on, and sometimes lambs and young calves. They are also known to prey on fawns, and once in a while, mature deer. They are too small to be really effective with a large animal like a healthy adult deer, but there are reports of a Bobcat hanging on the neck of a deer, until it bleeds to death. In all fairness, though, the major food of these cats is rabbits, mice, rats, and other small mammals, and birds.
The Bobcat ranges across the southern parts of Canada, and in all of the 48 states. In the States, bobcat hunting is quite well known. Some states still have bounties on them as undesirable predators, although the whole idea of bounties has fallen into disrepute in most areas. Hunting of Bobcats is usually done with hounds. The cats "tree" easily and are easily shot. But a Bobcat can give a very good account of himself - holding off several dogs for a long time. The old saying 'he could lick his weight in wildcats' was quite a good compliment.
The Bobcat itself hunts very largely by eyesight rather than by smell. It is a master of the slow, silent approach and the sudden deadly spring. It has patience beyond understanding, and will lie in wait beside a rabbit trail for hours.
The only thing about this cat which most of us will ever see, is its tracks in the sand or the snow.