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Posted By: Houser52 Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/14/23
Neighbor had this on his trail camera. Looks big for a bob cat but looks thick in the chest. What do you think it is, young cougar?

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]
It appears to me by its proportions to be a cougar. Judging from the bucket, we saw one here in NW Iowa about the same size this winter. Game warden confirmed other sightings.
Posted By: Lonny Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/14/23
Spots on the leg tells me bobcat. Tuft on chin-bobcat. Ears look bobcat to me also.
Posted By: johna1 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/14/23
There are some pretty big bobcats too.

Judging by the spots, I'd say what you have is a really big alpha male wildcat in his prime.
Posted By: ingwe Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/14/23
Bobcat...big one.
Posted By: Houser52 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/14/23
Thanks. As big as he looks he could take down one
of my calves pretty easy.
Posted By: OSU_Sig Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/15/23
I agree with the above Bobcat votes.
Originally Posted by ingwe
Bobcat...big one.

Yep.
Posted By: stxhunter Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/15/23
Originally Posted by Lonny
Spots on the leg tells me bobcat. Tuft on chin-bobcat. Ears look bobcat to me also.
^^^
Posted By: pete53 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/15/23
adult bobcat
Posted By: Dirtfarmer Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/15/23
Need a tail view.

That’s a big bobcat.

DF
Posted By: Bighorn Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/15/23
Here is a a bobcat, caught on my trail cam last month. Markings on the legs are very pronounced.
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
Posted By: jc189 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/15/23
I agree with others here. Big ass Bobcat. The picture can be deceiving. The Bobcat appears to be closer to the camera than the 5 gal bucket. This can make him look bigger this he really is. Like long arming a fish in a picture (holding it closer to the camera). Even so, it still looks like a big Bobcat.
Posted By: RIO7 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/15/23
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Bobcats can get pretty big Rio7
Originally Posted by George_De_Vries_3rd
It appears to me by its proportions to be a cougar. Judging from the bucket, we saw one here in NW Iowa about the same size this winter. Game warden confirmed other sightings.

Looks like I’m outvoted on this one..😀. The spots are bobcat-like but it still looks a bit chunky for a Bobcat to me..
Posted By: Skeezix Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/17/23
Around here, northwest Alabama, mature adult male bobcats will top out at around 55 lbs, plus or minus some. But saw one that was quite a bit above that.
Posted By: Dirtfarmer Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/17/23
Originally Posted by RIO7
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Bobcats can get pretty big Rio7
Poor kitty must have stepped in front of a fast moving projectile.

Stuff happens.

DF
Originally Posted by RIO7
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Bobcats can get pretty big Rio7

That is a big son of a gun Rio
Posted By: RIO7 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/17/23
Crappie Killer, Wish I had weighed this cat he's one of the biggest I have killed, most of the Bobcat's i kill weigh about 20# this one was twice or more bigger than most. Rio7
Posted By: jc189 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/17/23
I killed one about 15 years ago that weighed 45lbs. I have a pic of him somewhere but I haven't seen it in years. Big ol cat. He would hang out by the feeder when it went off in the morning and usually leave with his breakfast.
Posted By: MAC Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/20/23
Bobcat. They can get pretty big. I got one in TX last year that was big, the skin laid out flat was 46 inches long.
Posted By: keith Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/20/23
Bobcats that size are really rough on fawns and yearling deer.
Posted By: MOGC Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/21/23
Bobcats are one of those critters that people really have a hard time estimating the weight of. A good electronic scale would embarrass most guessers of bobcat weights.
Posted By: VarmintGuy Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/21/23
Houser52: I also opine that the picture depicts a Bobcat.
Cougars of that size have NO spots.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Posted By: Okanagan Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 04/21/23
Do you have any more pics of the same cat? Bobcats normally have a white patch on the back of their ears, but this pic doesn't really show the back of the ears. Young adult cougars often have faint juvenile spots and bars on the inside of their front legs, sometimes till they are nearly two years old. The spots on the outside of the front leg on this cat leans strongly toward bobcat. My biggest bobcat went 36 lbs. on a scale and I saw one that was bigger, with bigger tracks than the 36 lb. cat.
Posted By: dennisinaz Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/03/23
Bobcats vary in color by region. As to size, I've handled a couple hundred dead Bobcats and never seen one over 30 pounds.
Posted By: RIO7 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/03/23
Dennis, I have killed a few over 30# Bobcat can take down a mature Whitetail Buck, there's a couple of You Tube Video's of Bobcats killing adult Whitetail Bucks, the picture looks like a Bobcat to me. Rio7
Posted By: boomwack Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/04/23
Bobcat.
Posted By: Sitka deer Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/04/23
Originally Posted by MOGC
Bobcats are one of those critters that people really have a hard time estimating the weight of. A good electronic scale would embarrass most guessers of bobcat weights.

Bears and coyotes also embarrass weight guessers a lot...
Posted By: TrueGrit Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/04/23
That's a Bobcat, hunting is no different than fishing when it comes to the "scale telling no tales"
Posted By: RIO7 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/04/23
We need to add pigs to this weighty discussion, I see more 160# to 200# pigs that are claimed as 300# pigs than any other critter. Rio7
Posted By: OSU_Sig Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/04/23
Originally Posted by RIO7
We need to add pigs to this weighty discussion, I see more 160# to 200# pigs that are claimed as 300# pigs than any other critter. Rio7
This.
Posted By: Osky Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/04/23
Bobcat. Up in Minnesota the biggest official recorded bobcat weight is 58 pounds and change. I would think there are bigger out there somewhere.

Osky
Posted By: dennisinaz Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/04/23
I agree it's a bobcat. I just never see any that are bigger than 30#
Posted By: jc189 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/04/23
Heaviest Bobcat on record

BOBCAT3
Heaviest Bobcat On Record
BY MICHAEL BROAD · JUNE 7, 2018


The record adult male bobcat weighed 26.8 kilograms which is 59.1 pounds. The source for this information is The bobcat of North America by SP Young. The book was published in 1978 by Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. This record weight is heavier than the record as found by Google in its search results for the search term in the title.
This one is 48.9 lbs

https://pictures-of-cats.org/heaviest-bobcat-on-record.html
Posted By: Ben_Lurkin Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/04/23
I’m going with yearling cougar. Ears aren’t quite right for an adult bobcat.
Posted By: dennisinaz Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/05/23
Those must be pets that get fed lots of kibbles
Posted By: Godogs57 Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/05/23
Bobcat
Posted By: ldholton Re: Bobcat or young cougar? - 06/05/23
I too will go with bobcat.. looking at the size of the 5 gallon bucket and then the cat is also closer to the camera than the bucket..
you know the hunter behind the trophy always with arm stretch to make the trophy look bigger..
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