Lynx rufus and Puma concolor

Cougar (or panter, mountain lion)

Bobcat

The bobcat is brown with black spots. Its fur may be grayer in winter. It has large ears with slight tufts of hair at the tips. It has a striped ruff of fur on its cheeks and a short tail with a black tip. It gets its name from its short or bobbed tail. The bobcat is about two feet tall from its shoulders to its feet. It weigh between 20 and 30 pounds. The bobcat has excellent eyesight and hearing.

Cougars are the largest members of the cat family in North America. Adult males average approximately 140 pounds but in a perfect situation may weigh 180 pounds and measure 7-8 feet long from nose to tip of tail. Adult males stand about 30 inches tall at the shoulder. Adult female cougars average about 25 percent smaller than males. Cougars vary in color from reddish-brown to tawny (deerlike) to gray, with a black tip on their long tail.

Recently there has been alot of talk about mountain lion sightings in Sappa Park, just outside Oberlin. I've never spent much time thinking about it but with the continued "sightings" I decided maybe I should look at some pictures so that I would know what a bobcat and a cougar really look like. I'm thinking I would be able to tell the difference between a 20 pound "cat" and a 180 pound cat!!!