BOBCATS are a native wild animal, a feline predator, and we have a small population in Marshall County. They are stealthy and not easily observed.

If you were hiking along a forest trail to observe wildflowers, birds, the waking up of all kinds of plants and new tree buds, you are probably not going to see a wild bobcat. It will see you, or hear you, and hide so well with its camouflage colored fur that it will remain hidden.

Southern Iowa has long been the general area where bobcat populations were most common. Over time this species has slowly expanded its range into many parts of Iowa with a good mix of river bottom forests.

Some of the most intensely farmed northwest Iowa areas will have little to no bobcat sightings. As for Marshall County, bobcats are not a species that lends itself to exposure. Its habits of sneaky pursuit of rabbits, rodents, ground birds, is just the way this predator operates.

This past week I was made aware of a turkey hunter doing his thing, sitting quietly in a forest, dressed in full camo gear with his shotgun posed for a possible interaction with a wild turkey. While quietly waiting for events to happen, he observed a bobcat walking not too far away, unaware that he was being watched by a person.

This was a very lucky event to witness. The hunter used a cell camera to capture images as proof of his observation. Those images were not of high quality for use in this column, a situation I understand completely.

One cannot plan for and expect Mother Nature to agree with human plans. She will offer all kinds of situations in her random fashion.

If you happen to be at the right place at the right time with good quality camera gear to capture natural history moments, consider it a gift. Enjoy the moments of wild critters doing their thing as they go about living.

The scientific name for bobcats is Lynx rufus. Lynx comes from the Greek word given to lynx-like cats.

It comes from two Greek roots meaning “in lamp” and “to see” which may refer to the bright eye reflections if a light beam illuminates the animal. Rufus is Latin for “reddish” concerning the tendency for the fur color in some light conditions, and of course the short tail appears bobbed off, which it is not. Other big cats like mountain lions (cougars) have a long tail that is used to help balance the cat if running after prey like a deer.

A bobcat is a medium sized animal. It has a short broad face which is set off by ruffs of fur on the sides of the head and lower jaw.

Its ears are erect and pointed with several dark hairs making a point at the ear tips. It has long legs which makes for fast running if need be to pursue prey.

There are five toes on each front foot, and only four on each rear foot. All the toes have sharp talons that are normally held retracted but can be exposed to help defend itself or used to capture prey. This cat species walks on its toes, which have fur growing all around the foot. Quiet walking is normal for this cat.

Today’s image of a bobcat was made of a mount created by a taxidermist. Note the eye pupils.

The elliptical shape of the pupil is used to restrict bright light and if hunting at night, will open wide to allow any light to be utilized for hunting needs. As for its hide coloration, a light brown to tan to reddish cast of the fur is its base.

Spots occur over its entire body and legs, a good camouflage pattern. The tip of the tail is black. The back side of the ears are black and have a white spot. The pointed ear tufts are black.

A bobcat adult will grow to be anywhere from 24 inches to up to 50 inches long. The tail is about four to eight inches long. The skull is about five inches long and four inches wide.

It has 28 teeth total. Walking stride length is about 13 inches. Tracks are typically cat-like in that no toe nail marks are made.

They are mostly nocturnal. Active all year around, bobcats are also good climbers to avoid dogs or to use trees as observation platforms.

Bobcat food studies reveal that rabbits made up 67 percent of the diet, then followed by mice, rats and shrews at 0.7, squirrels 9.9, deer 8.6, opossums 1.9, domestic cats 1.9, wild turkeys 7.9, quail 1.7, undetermined meats including carrion 0.5, and grasses were 0.1 percent. They may bury surplus meat, but they really prefer fresh meat.

Lastly, the bobcat as the iconic mascot of the Marshalltown schools is a locally known entity. A mounted bobcat can be found in its display case at Marshalltown High School. Go Bobcats!

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Last Tuesday evening, a controlled fire was set by the staff of the Marshall County Conservation Board at the Grimes Farm. The field to be burned was carefully surrounded by trained staff workers as they used a slow traveling back fire to burn into the wind.

When the border areas were sufficiently wide enough, the entire field of native grasses like big bluestem, Indiangrass, switchgrass and a host of other grasses and forbs was surrounded by a new fire line set by the staff. Now the fire can only go where it is needed and wanted, into the central core of the field.

Today’s image shows the big flames engulfing the prairie growths of last year. The force of air drawn into the fire matrix created its own internal wind and thus tall flames. Yes, it was momentarily spectacular as the tall reddish and orange flames danced across the soil surface.

It did not take long for the tall flames to fizzle to a much lower level once the main fuel sources were consumed. This was the plan for consummation of this controlled prairie grass fire. Using the weather to their advantage, the conservation board staff made the burn look easy — and safe.

Wildfires, those that are unplanned or grass fires that expand out of control are not nice. Weather factors can be a big factor in how fast they spread. A reading from history books tells of life on the open prairie grasslands as living in fear if a fire threatened people, their homes and livestock.

Reports of fire lines during high winds in Iowa during the mid 1800s were going so fast that a rider on his horse could not outrun the fire advancing to catch him. What a scary thought that is.

Native Americans were well versed in fire management. They used fire to take down old growth, and then when spring rains fell, the new grass leaves grew to become tender tidbits for bison, elk and deer. Hunting the large prairie animals was made easier when the animals sought out good grazing.

The native peoples also advised settlers to set their own fire lines around their homesteads to burn away the fuel before the wildfire line arrived. It worked sometimes if the pioneer folks were watching the sky color upwind. When the main fire line arrived near a homestead, where the grass fuel was already absent, the big fire line just withered.

Fire was forced to seek fuel along the edges and sides of the already burned area, saving the buildings, livestock and people — if they were lucky. Some were not so fortunate.

Grass fires on the prairies, then and now, must be respected.

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A wildflower walk is coming on April 22 at Grammer Grove. Join Naturalist Emma Bruck for a hike into the forested areas of this park to view and learn how to identify spring wildflowers. These wild flowers are termed “ephemeral” since they bloom only for a short time. This can be your Earth Day activity as wild flowers set the stage for an engaging time outdoors. Enjoy.

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Garry Brandenburg is the retired director of the Marshall County Conservation Board. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a BS degree in Fish & Wildlife Biology.

Contact him at:

P.O. Box 96

Albion, IA 50005