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The Critters We Hunt

Critter information

Coyotes - Habitat

Coyotes are highly adaptable to a variety of
habitats. They inhabit a wide range of zones
including temperate forest and rain forest,
tropical forests and grasslands, deserts, and
other areas. Coyotes can often be seen
around farms and woodlots. These
carnivores are dangerous predators that kill
livestock and cause significant damage to
farmers.

Urban Wildlife

The species prefers habitats with no wolves
present. Despite the fact that humans have
changed the original habitat of the Coyote
greatly, the species has managed to adapt
quickly and its range is expanding nowadays.
The scale of its expansion is really
impressive. European settlers found these
wild animals only in some parts of North
America such as plains, prairies, and
deserts. Nowadays, Coyotes can be seen in
almost every state except Hawaii. The
species also inhabits Canada and some
other areas.

Apart from the fact that Coyotes are very
adaptable mammals, there are a few
theories as to such a rapid expansion of the
species. Some people believe that the
eastern Coyote was once native to such
states as New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. With
reforestation of these areas, Coyotes made
their way back from wilderness regions to
their native habitats.

There is also a different view on the
expansion of Coyotes. It is believed that the
western Coyote gave rise to animals that
migrated to eastern regions and interbred
with the wolf there. This interbreeding
produced a larger subspecies that started
expansion. It is interesting to note that
Coyotes may crossbreed with feral dogs.
Such animals are called "coydogs." Coyotes
- Diet and Feeding Habits Though Coyotes
are mainly carnivores, they can feed on
anything available. Mammals comprise the
lion's share of their diet. They feed on birds,
snakes, and insects as well as rabbits,
small rodents, and other animals. These
wild dogs also eat berries and fruits. The
species prefers fresh meat. However,
Coyotes often eat carrion. Usually, a Coyote
hunts alone. However, when hunting large
prey, such as the deer, Coyotes gather in
groups.

There is only one species of Bobcat in Texas
and in the southwestern deserts -- Felis
rufus. It has the widest and most continuous
range of any carnivore and is found
throughout all the deserts of the American
Southwest.

Habitat

Bobcats are found in almost all types of
habitat -- except metropolitan areas --
especially in mountains and even in desert
areas where water is available. In fact it
ranges through all four deserts of the
American Southwest, but favors rocky, brushy
hillsides on which to live and hunt.

Description
The name Bobcat may have originated from
its short tail, which is only 6 or 7 inches long.
The end of its tail is always black, tipped with
white, which distinguishes the Bobcat from
its northern cousin, the Canadian Lynx,
whose tail is tipped solid black.

The Bobcat has long legs and large paws.
Large specimens can weigh up to 30
pounds, but the average Bobcat is only 15 to
20 pounds. The Bobcat's growls and snarls
are so deep and fearsome, particularly when
hidden from view, that one gets the
mis-impression it must be a Mountain Lion.

Geographic variations have some effect on
their color. Those found in timber and heavy
brush fields are darker with rust-colored
tones, while those found in the Great Basin
area of northeastern California generally are
a paler tawny-gray, often with a complete
absence of spots on the back and less
distinct markings. The coat in wintertime is a
beautiful fur.

Habits
Despite its pussycat appearance when seen
in repose, the Bobcat is quite fierce and is
equipped to kill animals as large as deer.
When living near a ranch, it may take lambs,
poultry and even young pigs. However, food
habit studies have shown Bobcats subsist
on a diet of rabbits, ground squirrels, mice,
pocket gophers and wood rats. Quail have
been found in bobcat stomachs, but
predation by bobcats does not harm healthy
game populations.

The Bobcat roams freely at night and is
frequently abroad during the day except at the
peak of summer. It does not dig its own den.
If a crevice or a cave is not available, it will
den in a dense thicket of brush or
sometimes choose a hollow in a log or a tree.

Bobcats occupy areas from 1/4 of a square
mile to as much as 25 square miles,
depending on the habitat and sex of the
Bobcat. Female Bobcats occupy smaller
areas than males and normally do not
associate with other female bobcats. Males
roam wider than females; while they are not
particularly tolerant of other males, the home
ranges of males will overlap those of both
males and females.

Life Cycle
Its mating behavior is similar to a housecat's.
Young are usually born in April and May,
although litters may be born during almost
any month except December and January.

The normal Bobcat litter consists of 2 or 3
kittens, born blind and weighing 4 to 8
ounces. Birth occurs in a rock crevice or
burrow, after a 60-day gestation period. The
kittens open their eyes after 10 days and are
taught hunting skills by their mother until they
leave her 9 or 10 months later. The father
has no role in raising the offspring.

Males are usually fertile by their first year, but
females do not usually give birth to their first
litter until they are two years old. Females
normally produce just one litter per year.
Because Bobcats are solitary animals,
males and females spend only a few days of
the year together -- during courtship and
mating. Bobcats in captivity have been known
to live as long as 25 years.

Young Bobcats appear as lovable and
harmless domestic kittens, but because they
are wild animals with the ability to inflict injury
to humans, it is illegal to keep Bobcats as
pets without special permits.

Current Status
Until 1971 the Bobcat, like the Coyote, had
been pursued and destroyed as an
undesirable predator, and little thought was
given to its status or welfare. It could be killed
at any time and in any manner. With the
international protection of the world's spotted
cats, the fur trade turned to the North
American Bobcat. Almost overnight the pelt of
the Bobcat came into prominence as one of
the most desirable and expensive furs that
could be taken legally.

Because of the high value of the Bobcat's fur
and the recent increase in the take by
hunters and licensed fur trappers, Some
states have imposed a wintertime trapping
season to control the amount of time when
Bobcat can be taken.

The Department of Fish and Game has
initiated a number of studies throughout the
state to determine density, home range, and
territoriality of the bobcat and to determine
details of population dynamics, including age
and sex structure of bobcats so that
management plans may regulate what has
become a valuable commercial resource.

Presently, the fur trapping season extends
from November 15 to the last day of February.
However, due to the very nature and location
of the terrain which Bobcats prefer, the deep
snows and impassable muddy roads in
winter virtually close thousands of square
miles of bobcat habitat during the hunting
and trapping season. This, plus the
protective regulations, should allow the
Bobcat to thrive in California. The Bobcat has
at last been recognized as a valuable part of
our wildlife resources.

Mountain Lion/Cougar
Felis concolor

Distributed widely throughout the western
U.S., including all four deserts of the
American Southwest.Habitat

Mountain Lions live in many different types of
habitats, from deserts to humid coast range
forest, and from sea level to 10,000-foot
elevations. They are generally most
abundant in areas with plentiful deer and
adequate cover.Description

The Mountain Lion, also known as the
Cougar, Panther or Puma, is the most widely
distributed cat in the Americas. It is
unspotted -- tawny-colored above overlaid
with buff below. It has a small head and
small, rounded, black-tipped ears. Its long
tail is also black-tipped.

Adult males may be more than 8 feet long
from nose to end of tail and generally weigh
between 130 and 150 pounds. Adult females
can be 7 feet long and weigh between 65
and 90 pounds.

Mountain Lions are solitary, strongly territorial
hunters who, unlike most cat species, may
be active during the day. Normally, lions are
very elusive, and people rarely get more than
a brief glimpse of a Mountain Lion in the wild.
They are, however, unpredictable and have
been known to attack people.

The predatory behavior of a Mountain Lion is
very similar to the domestic cat. The lion will
attempt to conceal itself for a surprise attack
while stalking its prey. A crouched position is
assumed with the tail twitching and the ears
upright. An agitated lion may snarl and lay its
ears back.

Sometimes called the treefox, the
shortlegged grey fox is noted for its ability to
climb trees much more than other foxes. Up
to 27 in. head and bodylength and 15 lb
weight, the greyfox has a bushy tail up to 17
in. long. The general colour of the fur is grey
with underpartswhite but there is a rusty
tinge along the sides of the neck, lower
flanks and underside of the tail. There is a
black line along the middle of the back,
continuing along the tail, and black lines on
the face. There is a noticeable ridge of stiff
hairs along the top of the tail. Its size and
colour vary from one region to another. In the
northeast of its range its coat is a dark grey;
in the southwest it is paler and slightly redder.

The range from southern Canada through
the United States to Mexico, Central America
and northern South America. A smaller
animal with shorter ears living on certain
islands Off southern Calfornia is regarded as
a second species. It scavenges the beaches
and makes its den among the cacti.

Grey foxes live in forests, especially of
southern pines, or brush country in the dry
areas of the southwestern United States and
Mexico. It is difficult to assess numbers
because the animal is not only about mainly
at night but is also adept at keeping out of
sight at all times. It is therefore
comparatively seldom seen and even its
yapping bark often passes unrecognized,
even if heard, partly because it is somewhat
like the call of the coyote. During the day it
rests in thick vegetation or among rocks, or in
a tree hollow. Much of its food is caught on
the ground but the fox will not only go up into
trees when pursued but will also do so of its
own will, especially to find fruits in season. It
will run up a leaning trunk or climb a straight
trunk gripping it with its forelimbs and
pushing upwards with the hindfeet, the long
claws on the toes of the hindfeet acting as
climbing irons. Once in the tree it may leap
from one branch to another. In descending
the fox backs down the tree. it is not a fast
runner, nor can it run long distances. The
difference between the crude climbing of the
red fox and the skill of the grey fox can best
be illustrated by an accident. A grey fox was
found dead in a tree its tail caught by the tip
in a forked twig and further held by having
passed through a second fork. From the
scarring on the bark of the nearby twigs the
fox had made desperate efforts to free itself.
The important point is that all the twigs
around the fox were no more than 3/4 in. thick
and most were nearer 2/5 in.

Its diet is wide and takes in mice, squirrels,
small birds and eggs, as well as insects. It
also includes more plant food than is usual
in the dog family.Grain and fruits, especially
wild grapes and wild cherries, form tlhe bulk
of the food at certain seasons and in
particular areas. With such a wide diet the
grey fox readily takes to farmland and can be
a nuisance, especially where there is poultry.
It is also established in some builtup areas,
for instance, the outskirts of New York City.
The actual requirements of grey foxes were
worked out by Richard F Dyson, Curator of
Large Mammals at the Arizona-Sonora
Desert Museum at Tucson. Because some
of the mammals were overweight and had
shaggy coats he tested grey foxes for 6
months and found they kept in excellent
health on 3-8% of their own body weight of
food (flesh and fruit) per day. Later it was
shown that this held good for other
carnivores.

United families

The cubs are born in spring after a gestation
period of about 2 months, the litter averaging
3 or 4, but it may be from 2 to 7. At birth the
cubs are black, blind and helpless, about 31
oz weight. They are weaned at 6 weeks. The
male helps in bringing up the family, the
cubs finally leaving the parents at the age of
5 months. Grey foxes have lived up to 12
years in captivity.
The grey fox may be killed by wolf, coyote,
bobcat and lynx but today its main enemy is
man. Because of its habit of going quickly to
ground or up into trees it is not hunted but
trapped. In this the trapper takes advantage
of the regularity with which a grey fox uses a
run through the vegetation and sets his traps
accordingly. The pelts make only
second-rate furs.

Characteristics

The red fox has orangish-red fur on its back,
sides and head. It has white fur under its
neck and on its chest. It has a long bushy tail
tipped in white, pointed black ears and black
legs and feet.   RangeThe red fox can be
found in most of the United States and
Canada, except for the far north in Canada
and Alaska and much of the western U.S.
and Hawaii. The red fox can also be found in
Europe and Asia and it has been introduced
to Australia.

HabitatThe red fox makes its home in
wooded areas, prairies and farmland.
DietThe red fox eats a wide variety of foods. It
is an omnivore and its diet includes fruits,
berries and grasses. It also eats birds and
small mammals like squirrels, rabbits and
mice. A large part of the red fox's diet is made
up invertebrates like crickets, caterpillars,
grasshoppers, beetles and crayfish. The red
fox will continue to hunt even when it is full. It
stores extra food under leaves, snow or dirt.

Life Cycle

The red fox mates from January through
March. The female will make one or more
dens right after mating. The extra dens are
used if the original den is disturbed. A little
less than two months after mating, the
female gives birth to a litter of between one
and ten kits. The male brings the female food
while she is caring for the kits. The kits start
playing outside the den when they are about
a month old. The mother begins feeding her
kits regurgitated food, but eventually she will
bring them live prey to "play" with and eat.
Playing with live prey helps the young kits
develop the skills they will need for hunting.
The kits leave their mother when they are
about seven months old.   BehaviorThe red
fox is mostly nocturnal, although it will
sometimes venture out in the day. The red
fox, unlike other mammals, hears
low-frequency sounds very well. It can hear
small animals digging underground and will
frequently dig in the dirt or snow to catch prey.
The fox stalks its prey, much like a cat. It gets
as close as it can and then pounces and
chases its prey.

Except for breeding females, the fox doesn't
usually use a den. Sometimes it will sleep in
the open, wrapping its bushy tail around its
nose to stay warm. When it does use a den,
it will usually find an abandoned rabbit or
marmot den instead of making its own den.

This mangy pup was taken in my Dads front
yard. As you can see, He was eating pears
out from under the pear tree. He fell 12 yards
from the house.