_Specimens examined_ (3).--12 mi. N, 9 mi. W Buffalo, 1; 11 mi. N, 7 mi.
W Buffalo, 1; 9 mi. N, 9 mi. W Buffalo, 1.
The bobcat, although not abundant, is generally distributed throughout
Harding County, particularly in the buttes and badlands. Visher
(1914:90) reported the species as common in the early part of this
century. Our three specimens were shot in March 1963 by professional
hunters sponsored by the Western South Dakota Sheepman Association, two
from the air and one on the ground. Two other bobcats were killed in the
same three-day period (March 25-27).
We tentatively assign our specimens to the subspecies _pallescens_ owing
to their pale color and the general agreement of their external and
cranial measurements with those reported for other specimens of that
race. Geographic variation in _Lynx rufus_ from throughout the Northern
Great Plains is poorly documented, however, and is in need of critical
analysis. External measurements of the three specimens, all males (adult
and two young adults, respectively), are: total length, 870, 925, 820;
length of tail, 142, 176, 155; length of hind foot, 191, 192, 178;
length of ear, 82, 84, 71; weight (pounds), 23, 17, 16. Respective
lengths of testes were 30, 36, and 15. Selected cranial measurements of
the adult and largest young adult are: condylobasal length, 113.7,
111.5; zygomatic breadth, 88.3, 83.7; interorbital constriction, 24.5,
23.5; length of nasals, 30.1, 30.8; length of maxillary toothrow, 37.7,
38.6.