WILDLIFE DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Lynx rufus | Bobcat 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Bobcats occur from southern Canada south almost throughout the
contiguous United States to southern Mexico.  They do not occur in most
of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri.  Bobcat range is
gradually expanding northward in Canada as boreal forests become
fragmented by farming, logging, and settlement [6,17].  The current
distribution of the subspecies was not described in the literature.


ECOSYSTEMS : 
FRES10 White-red-jack pine
FRES11 Spruce-fir
FRES12 Longleaf-slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly-shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak-pine
FRES15 Oak-hickory
FRES16 Oak-gum-cypress
FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood
FRES18 Maple-beech-birch
FRES19 Aspen-birch
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES22 Western white pine
FRES23 Fir-spruce
FRES24 Hemlock-Sitka spruce
FRES25 Larch
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES27 Redwood
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES31 Shinnery
FRES32 Texas savanna
FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
FRES34 Chaparral-mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon-juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
FRES40 Desert grasslands
FRES41 Wet grasslands
FRES42 Annual grasslands
FRES44 Alpine


STATES : 


    
AL
    
AK
	
AZ
    
AR
    
CA
    
CO
    
CT
    
DE
    
FL
    
GA


    
ID
    
IL
    
IN
    
IA
    
KS
    
KY
    
LA
    
ME
    
MD
    
MA


    
MI
    
MN
    
MS
    
MO
    
MT
    
NE
    
NV
    
NH
    
NJ
    
NM


    
NY
    
NC
    
ND
    
OH
    
OK
    
OR
    
PA
    
RI
    
SC
    
SD


    
TN
    
TX
    
UT
    
VT
    
VA
    
WA
    
WV
    
WI
    
WY






    
AB
    
BC
    
MB
    
ON
    
SK
 





    
MEXICO
    




BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    1  Northern Pacific Border
    2  Cascade Mountains
    3  Southern Pacific Border
    4  Sierra Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau
    6  Upper Basin and Range
    7  Lower Basin and Range
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   10  Wyoming Basin
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau
   13  Rocky Mountain Piedmont
   14  Great Plains
   15  Black Hills Uplift
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   Bobcats probably occur in most Kuchler plant associations.


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   Bobcats probably occur in most SAF cover types.


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
   Bobcats probably occur in most SRM (rangeland) cover types.


PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Bobcats are found in a wide variety of plant communities including
coniferous forest, deciduous forest, mixed forest, the Everglades,
prairie and other grasslands, chaparral, sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)
scrubland, creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) scrubland, and mesquite
(Prosopis spp.) scrub [1].

Bobcats do show some plant community preferences. They commonly occur in
areas with a mosaic of different plant communities and seral stages
[4,7,51].  In Minnesota bobcats preferred areas of black spruce (Picea
mariana), northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis), and balsam fir
(Abies balsamea) interspersed with quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)
and lowland shrubs [4].  No significant seasonal shifts in habitat use
occurred.  Rollings [35] found that in Minnesota, bobcat winter habitat
was primarily thick northern white-cedar or black spruce swamps.  In New
England, bobcats were frequently found in northern white-cedar swamps
and black spruce thickets [12].  Bobcat habitat in Massachusetts was
characterized by cliff areas, black spruce plantations, and eastern
hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)-hardwood communities [30].

Common tree and shrub species of bobcat habitat in the Intermountain
West include manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), mountain-mahogany
(Cercocarpus spp.), pinyon (Pinus spp.), sagebrush, and juniper
(Juniperus spp.) [37].  In the Frank-Church River of No Return
Wilderness, Idaho, bobcats selected Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii)/mountain-mahogany (Cercoparus spp.) communities, but avoided
Douglas-fir/wheatgrass communities.  The latter communities lacked rocky
terrain and mountain-mahogany cover for bobcats [49].  Bobcats in
another Idaho study were found in areas dominated by big sagebrush
(Artemisia tridentata) with nearby caves and sagebrush-Utah juniper (J.
osteosperma) areas near volcanic outcroppings.  Most of the preference
for these habitats was accounted for by prey density and cover for
hunting and resting [47].  In Fresno County, California, bobcats were
most common from 2,001 to 4,003 feet (610-1,220 m) elevation, with the
preferred cover types in the eastern portion of the county including
woodland-grass, pine (Pinus spp.)-chaparral, and hardwood woodland [7].


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Lynx rufus | Bobcat