The Bobcat of North America

Book excerpt: In this volume Stanley P. Young completes his series of monographs on the major predatory mammals of North America. As in his earlier works, The Wolves of North America; The Puma, Mysterious American Cat; and The Clever Coyote, Mr. Young writes with the authority of a field biologist who has studied his subjects for more than a quarter of a century in the intimacy of their own habitat, from coast to coast and from the northern limits of their range in Alaska and Canada to the deserts of Mexico. Mr. Young, now Director of Bird and Mammal Laboratories in the Branch of Wildlife Research of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, began his career as a biologist in the old Bureau of Biological Survey When much of the Activity of that agency hinged around the control of predatory animals. In this and in later capacities he has probably handled, weighed, measured, and studied more specimens, alive and dead, of the bobcat in its many races than any other scientist. In addition to his own wide experiences he has drawn upon the wealth of records and field observations of farmers, stockmen, trappers, predator hunters, state and federal biologists, and wildlife technicians in the files of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The book is a complete scientific study of the subject from every angle, interestingly spiced with anecdotes from the author’s own rich personal experience. How big is a “big” bobcat? How serious is bobcat predation on game animals? How can a small bobcat pull down and kill a deer five times its own weight? What are the habits and habitat of the bobcat? What are the ranges of its various scientifically recognized races? All of these questions and many more are answered in the pages of this generously illustrated book.