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A seldom-seen wild cat named for its short, bobbed tail.
Bobcats live in many habitats throughout Utah, from deserts and forests to marshes and grasslands. Coats range from light gray to buff or reddish brown, with short tufts on the ear tips and the short "bob" tail that gives them their name. Adults weigh 12 to 30 pounds.
They are solitary and mostly active at dawn and dusk. Rabbits are the main prey, but bobcats take whatever is most plentiful, including birds, rodents and reptiles. They have adapted to living near towns but are very elusive. In Utah they are protected furbearers.
Conflicts are uncommon, but bobcats sometimes take poultry and small pets. Keep hobby animals in enclosed shelters at night, and clean up seed under bird feeders, which draws the rodents bobcats hunt.
Sure-footed sheep of the slickrock, restored to Zion after disappearing there.
Insect-eating flying mammals whose lives depend on suitable roosts, water and a safe seasonal cycle.
A diverse group of native predators best appreciated without handling or close-range identification attempts.
An elusive raccoon relative that moves through canyon rock with a long black-and-white ringed tail.