Bobcats are found throughout the lower 48 states, and in South Carolina are most abundant in the Coastal Plain. Their fur is buff to brown, often with a reddish tinge, and marked with spots or stripes of brown and black. The fur on its undersideis lighter in color. Mostly nocturnal animals, bobcats have facial ruffs, ear tufts, and short, bobbed tails, from which they get 
their name.

- While the bobcat is not endangered, its harvest is monitored because of the high demand for spotted cat furs worldwide. Unfortunately, commercial harvesting of bobcats is allowed in South Carolina, providing a particular challenge for “sports trappers.” Bobcats are often blamed for the loss of livestock, which is actually the result of predation by feral or free-ranging dogs.

- Bobcats eat a variety of animals, including rabbits, mice, rats, squirrels, the occasional lizard, and wild birds. Bobcats can run up to 30 miles per hour and can leap up to 12 feet to catch prey. Stealthy and solitary hunters, bobcats place their back feet in the same spots as their front feet to reduce noise. 

- About twice the size of domestic cats, bobcats are polygamous, breeding from late February to early April. The mother usually gives birth to three kittens, which venture out on their own after about eight months. Helpfully, the backs of a bobcat's ears are marked with two white spots, which a female's kittens probably follow in dim light. Another useful adaptation is the white underside of the bobcat's bobbed tail. If kittens fall too far behind their mother, the mother stops and softly calls to them while raising her tail to reveal the white patch below.