Bobcat in deep snow. We found this Bobcat in Yellowstone National Park’s Firehole Canyon. It was on the far bank of the Firehole River in deep snow guarding a Mule Deer kill. We spent five and a half hours in the freezing cold watching this lovely cat. Although quite numerous, Bobcats are rarely seen so we were delighted to spend such an extended period of time with this animal. Seeing a Bobcat in deep snow was near the top of our wish list on our visit to Yellowstone National Park.
The Bobcat is a medium-sized cat native to North America. Its range runs from southern Canada and through most of the United States. It has a distinctive stubby tail with a black tip. This Bob of a tail gives this endearing cat its name. It is up to 1.25m from head to base of the tail and the tail can be up to 20cm in length. The Bobcat stands up to 0.6m at the shoulder. The average weight of males is 9.6kg with females weighing an average of 6.8kg. It prefers to take smaller prey but it can take prey up to eight times its own weight.