Bobcat (Lynx rufus) Fact Sheet: Managed Care

This section describes general husbandry/care aspects for lynxes, including bobcat and Canada lynx, at the San Diego Zoo (Nicki Boyd, personal communication, 2020).

Shelters

• Similar to wild habitats in southern California
• Rocky outcrops
• Horizontal tree trunks and logs
• High perches to look out from
• Low caves for hiding
• Mix of indoor and outdoor spaces
• Bedding, such as hay
• Shade for cooling
• Mist, snow, and ice provided during warm months
• Heat elements available for warming
• Not usually needed in San Diego

Diet

• Wet beef mix
• Previously frozen small mammals, such as rabbits and mice
• Bones
• Occasionally, fish or egg
• Whole prey often fed
• Provides complete nutritional profile (i.e., essential proteins, vitamins, minerals)

Enrichment and training

• Environmental experiences
• Scratch claws on wood or other material
• Search and climb to access hanging food
• Dig up partially buried food (e.g., from under soil)
• Hunt live fish in river bed model
• Drink water from drip source (rather than pool)
• Lick food frozen in ice
• Rotation of habitat areas (New Children’s Zoo)
• Diversity in meal quantity and frequency
• Offered multiple small meals in a day vs. single large meal over a couple of days
• Reflects natural variations in prey availability
• Olfactory stimulation
• Provided object that a rodent (potential prey) once lived in or rubbed by another carnivore (potential competitor)
• Walks
• Ambassador Animals only

At the San Diego Zoo, bobcats are offered shade, mist, and ice to keep cool during the summer.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.