Nature Bulletin No. 285-A   December 2, 1967
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Richard B. Ogilvie, President
Roland F. Eisenbeis, Supt. of Conservation

****:NATIVE AMERICAN CATS

The early colonists and pioneers feared and hated the wild native cats. 
Actually, these sly cunning animals avoid people, hunt mostly at night, 
and are so silent and secretive that they are rarely seen, There are very 
few proven instances of them ever attacking a human being but our 
forefathers waged relentless war upon these "varmints" because they 
killed some domestic animals and preyed upon the game which 
furnished the early settlers with some of their meat. Recently, 
conservationists have realized that the native cats have a vital, useful 
place in nature.

These members of the cat family have much in common with your pet 
pussycat. They purr when contented. They growl or hiss and spit when 
angry, and caterwaul or yell and scream at mating time. They have long 
sensitive whiskers. All cats, except the cheetah of Africa and Asia, have 
long claws which they keep sharpened and can be sheathed inside the 
toes. The rounded skull contains a keen brain. They have no grinding 
molars but behind the long canine teeth, or fangs, are special cheek 
teeth for slicing the flesh upon which they feed almost exclusively. 
They see well in anything short of total darkness, have an extraordinary 
sense of balance, and have an unusual muscular development which 
gives them great strength and agility. The cat is a perfect predator.

The Cougar or Mountain Lion -- also called panther, puma, "painter" or 
"catamount" -- is the largest American cat except the Jaguar. Other than 
man, it has the widest natural distribution of any species of mammal; 
from Canada to Patagonia In the United States it was originally found 
from coast to coast -- in dense forests, tall-grass prairies, the Great 
Plains, pathless swamps, rugged mountains, and even in the burning 
deserts. Today it persists only in almost inaccessible wilderness areas of 
Florida, the Rockies, and the Pacific Coast, but only where there are 
deer. The cougar has a long slender body, yellowish-brown or tawny, 
with a long brown-tipped tail. A big male may measure 8 feet, tip to tip, 
and weigh 150 pounds. Females are smaller and the young, like those of 
all our American cats, are spotted. Although their chief prey is deer, 
they also kill elk, livestock, and some rodents such as beaver, skunks 
and porcupines.

The Canada Lynx is a shy wary creature of the deep forests in Canada. 
There are probably none left in this country except a few in some of our 
northeastern states. It is a long-legged animal with big hairy feet, fluffy 
gray fur, erect tufted ears, a ruff around its face, and a ridiculously short 
black-tipped tail. It is rather chunky, being about 3 feet long, 2 feet high 
at the shoulder, and weighing from 15 to 40 pounds. It is a relentless 
enemy of the fox and eats many ground-nesting birds, such as the 
grouse and ptarmigan, but its chief prey is the varying hare or snowshoe 
rabbit.

The Bobcat or Bay Lynx is similar but smaller, its fur is reddish and 
more spotted, it lacks the ruff and conspicuous ear tufts, and the short 
tail is white on the under side. Its legs are much shorter and the feet are 
smaller. The average bobcat stands about 15 inches high at the 
shoulder, with an overall length of 32 to 42 inches, and weighs from 15 
to 25 pounds. Although a good climber, most of its food is taken on the 
ground: rabbits, squirrels and other rodents; ground-nesting birds and 
poultry; sometimes sheep, calves and deer. Of all the native cats, it is 
the only one that has been able to cope with our civilization and it is 
likely that the "wildcat" -- as it is called -- occurs in every state in the 
Union.

We humans ! We make the wildcat wild.