Wildcats range over the whole of the San Gabriel Range, with the
possible exception of the tops of the highest peaks such as Mt. San
Antonio and Mt. Baden Powell. Sign of these animals has been observed,
or specimens have been taken, from the coastal sage belt up to about
8500 feet in the yellow pine forests on Blue Ridge. The subspecies
_baileyi_ occurs on the desert slope of the range.
Wildcats are most common in the chaparral belt where they forage widely
from the ridges down into the canyons. Judging from trapping records
bobcats are not so common here as the gray fox.
Bobcats occur in the sage belt, where they are most common in the broken
country around washes and in brushy areas. Although bobcats and coyotes
occupy the same general areas here, the habitat preferences of these
animals seem to be different, with coyotes occupying the more open
country. An indication of the hunting habits of bobcats is furnished by
the occurrence of masses of prickly-pear thorns beneath the skin of the
legs, particularly the forelegs, of three specimens trapped in the sage
belt. These thorns probably were acquired while the bobcats foraged for
woodrats or cottontails in the patches of prickly-pear, which are
locally abundant in the sage belt.
On March 12, 1951, a small subadult female bobcat, trapped at 4000 feet
in San Antonio Canyon, was found dead in the trap and had numerous deep
cuts around its head and shoulders, and severe bruises on the right
shoulder. The spacing of the cuts, and the tracks around the set,
indicated that while held in the trap this animal had fought with a
second bobcat that had inflicted the fatal wounds. It seems unlikely
that the fight was caused by a male attempting to copulate with the
female held in the trap, for the female was found to be carrying an
embryo.
In Live Oak Canyon, in December, 1950, tracks and bits of fur indicated
that a bobcat had killed and eaten a gray squirrel. Remains of
cottontails were found in the stomachs of two bobcats. All six bobcats
from the Pacific slope had nematode worms in the pyloric end of the
stomach.
Two females obtained on March 12 and 19, 1951, each had one embryo
approximately one inch long (rump to crown).
The following list gives the weight of each of the specimens from the
Pacific slope of the San Gabriels.
_Specimens examined._--Total, 8, distributed as follows: Los
Angeles County: San Antonio Canyon, 4000 ft., 1; San Antonio
Canyon, 3200 ft., 1; 4 mi. N Claremont, 1900 ft., 2; Thompson
Canyon, 1800 ft., 1; 3 mi. NE Claremont, 1700 ft., 2; Little
Dalton Canyon, 1500 ft., 1 (PC).
TABLE 12.--WEIGHTS OF LYNX RUFUS CALIFORNICUS FROM THE SAN GABRIEL
MOUNTAINS.
=====================================================================
sex and age | locality | date | weight
-------------+----------------------------+----------------+---------
[Female] ad. |3 mi. NE Claremont, 1700 ft.|January 20, 1951|18.8 lbs.
-------------+----------------------------+----------------+---------
[Female] sad.|4 mi. N Claremont, 1900 ft. |March 9, 1951 |12.5 "
-------------+----------------------------+----------------+---------
[Male] ad. |Thompson Canyon, 1800 ft. |January 15, 1948|13.2 "
-------------+----------------------------+----------------+---------
[Male] sad. |4 mi. N Claremont, 1900 ft. |January 26, 1951|11.3 "
-------------+----------------------------+----------------+---------
[Male] ad. |3 mi. NE Claremont, 1700 ft.|January 27, 1951|13.8 "
-------------+----------------------------+----------------+---------
[Male] sad. |San Antonio Canyon, 4000 ft.|March 12, 1951 | 7.9 "
-------------+----------------------------+----------------+---------
[Male] sad. |San Antonio Canyon, 3200 ft.|March 17, 1951 |11.2 "
-------------+----------------------------+----------------+---------
=Lynx rufus baileyi= Merriam