Exactly what is this? Cat content

[GG Allin]

This was spotted by a co worker in a forest preserve about 30 miles NW of Chicago, in an area where suburbia is transitioning to farm land. Illinois has Bobcats but mostly in the southern half of the state. Google reverse image search says Eurasian Lynx. Did someone lose a pet?

[id10t]

bobcat

[fanaudical]

Weird-looking kitty. I wonder if that's an almost-adult juvenile that had her legs grow faster than the rest of her body?

[gregpark]

A Bobcats tail tip is white on the underside. I think you're right, this cat was brought in from Eurasia. It looks healthy

[Skip Newsom]

^Greg beat me to it^
Juvenile Lynx-
Bobcats and Lynx are closely related but one of the traits is the tail color and overall size. Bobcats also don’t have ear tufts like this cat does.

Lynx tails have an all-black tip. Bobcat tails have a black bar or spot on top with a white underside.

[LWJ]

I am no expert but that seems way too long legged for a Bobcat.

[GG Allin]

It certainly looks like some sort of Lynx, just not the type found in Illinois.

[unclebilly]

Chupicabra?

[juanbenae]

I wonder if somebody had it as a pet and it escaped? I know people will let reptiles and other non native species loose when they get too much to keep, but you'd think that type of critter would be easy to rehome if you wanted to give it up.

I watched a youtube short recently about how due to shrinking polar ice that grizzles are moving further north and mating with polar bears. One hybrid was taken by a hunter in Canada thinking it was a brown bear, but upon getting up on the kill it was obviously not a grizzly. He reached out to the game department who took sample of it confirming it to be a hybrid. The video was very interesting in that grizzles can hunt and forage on land, whereas the polar bear cannot as they are strictly carnivores and not adapted to hunt on land effectively. It was noted that like many hybrids they did not have a matching number of chromosomes, so they likely were not able to breed. They touched on Coywolves being able to breed do to the matching chromosomes count. They suggested that they expect this to be occurring more often as the species are becoming more likely to share territory as the ice goes away.

I wonder if that cat could interbreed with bobcats?

[gregpark]

AI says Lynx and bobcats can indeed interbreed. The offspring are called Blynxes

[Skip Newsom]

Blynmothy!

Those are some long legs, bet she will grow into them

[sc_rufctr]

Whatever he is if corned he'd mess you up.

My BIL (American living in Colorado) told me a story about a neighbor who found a young Cougar in his back yard. The neighbor accidentally cornered it and the thing came at him. His wife was nearby. They both restrained the cat but his hand was near her mouth. Then SNAP... he immediately knew what had happened. She bit off his left thumb at the first joint. After lots of fighting and carry on somehow they managed to get the animal trapped in their laundry They called animal control who took the Cougar away. The husband and wife went to hospital together.

So a lost thumb & lots of cuts/scratches. I think they were both incredibly lucky it wasn't worse.
If it was me I'd just get out of the way as best I could. I certainly wouldn't try and restrain it.

Originally Posted by GG Allin

This was spotted by a co worker in a forest preserve about 30 miles NW of Chicago, in an area where suburbia is transitioning to farm land. Illinois has Bobcats but mostly in the southern half of the state. Google reverse image search says Eurasian Lynx. Did someone lose a pet?



...

[sc_rufctr]

Like this but younger. This cat would certainly get a wide berth from me.