Long Tailed Bobcat Or Cougar? (Video)

Bobcats have tails!

That might not seem worthy of the exclamation point there but it needs to be said emphatically.

Over the last few years I have examined may photos people thought were cougars because the tail was longer than they expected. The video below shows a bobcat captured on a game camera by friends of mine in Orange County, TX.

This particular bobcat has a tail longer than just about any I have seen but there are many of them out there with tails close to this. Some have little powder puff looking tails but most stretch out 3-4 inches. This one is probably 8-9 inches in length.

Update: Here’s A Video On Black Bobcats And Long-Tailed Bobcats

That is long for a bobcat but nearly as long as a cougar which has a tail nearly as long as the body.I have no scientific way of estimation but I daresay 75 percent of alleged cougar sightings in the eastern half of the United States are bobcats.

I know for a fact there are cougars there too but bobcats are far more numerous and I know from personal experience how many people think they have a cougar photo but find out it is a bobcat instead.

This is no fault of their own. Wildlife identification studies are not a priority at schools and in fact game wardens even get very little wildlife identification education during their formal training.

I appreciate any and all game camera photos and if you have some you would like to have evaluated email chester@kingdomzoo.com.

There are many wild cat mysteries out there that we will be discussing over the next year here at fishgame.com. If this topic intrigues you, be on the lookout.

Chester Moore