Two sleek, muscular cats roam North America and occasionally come into contact with each other. Both highly territorial felines, they are more than willing to fight to defend their range. These two large kitties are fierce predators, and while it is rare for them to engage in combat together, it happens from time to time. These powerful beasts are the bobcat and cougar.
It’s fun to engage in philosophical discussion as to which animals could take down another in one-on-one combat based on criteria-based comparisons. Let’s analyze these two Felidae family members to see which one would come out on top in a deathmatch!
An animal’s habits and lifestyle can play a role in determining their ability to survive and what skills they bring to the table. Before we delve into any specific categories, let’s learn a little bit about how each of these proud creatures live their lives to learn what we can about them.
The Bobcat
With a range that spans North America, the bobcat is so named for its short, “bobbed” tail. Like other lynx’s, it has long black tufts atop its ears which are one of its most distinguishable features. While its underbelly is typically white, the fur itself has a bit of shag and can range from shades of brown to white, with black spots.
The bobcat is a pure carnivore, which means he only wants meat. While he typically satisfies himself with smaller prey such as rabbits, fish, birds, mice, and insects, they can and will take down larger prey such as skunks, foxes, deer, or even your pet dog or cat if you’re not cautious (source). He is also not averse to chomping on carrion they find lying about. When full, he may cover his meal so that he can enjoy some leftovers later.
A bobcat’s territory is very important to him and he will do whatever it takes to defend his range. He may have several dens in a range that can be nearly twenty miles in some cases, and he marks it with urine and feces to warn others to stay away. He sometimes signs a few trees with his claws to fashion a “keep out” sign of sorts, as well.
He loves his alone time and usually lives and hunts on his own. He prefers seeking prey at dawn or dusk, as the light begins to fail, which gives him an edge due to his advanced eyesight. Although in winter, he may hunt in broad daylight if prey is scarce.
He is a great climber, jumper, and can swim as well.
The Cougar
The cougar ranges North America as well, but can also be found in South America. He has tawny fur typically, but can feature grey or reddish fur as well. They have a slender body, long tail, and rounded heads and are large enough that they are often called “mountain lions”.
They also prefer the solitary lifestyle, cougars enjoy hunting deer quite a bit, and also consider porcupines, raccoons, coyotes and smaller mammals prey, even eating insects on some occasions. Like his bobcat cousin, he will also eat carrion and hide his food so he can finish it later.
His hind legs are larger than his front, facilitating a powerful jumping ability; he is even able to jump around 15 feet straight up!
Tale of the Tape
| Bobcat | Cougar | |
| Weight | 13 to 30 pounds | 120 – 220 lbs |
| Length | 30 to 50 inches | 7 ft 10 in |
| Habitat | forests, coastal swamps, desert and scrubland. | forest, lowland and mountainous deserts |
| Lifespan | 12 – 13 years in the wild (20 years in captivity) | 8 – 13 years (In the wild) |
| Speed | up to 30 mph | 50 mph |
| Temperament | Shy, avoidant | Shy, Aggressive |
| Diet | Carnivore: rabbit, rodents, beaver, peccaries, birds and bats, and deer. | Carnivore: deer, coyotes, porcupines, and raccoons |
Bobcat vs Cougar: Size and Weight
A size advantage is typically one of the greatest factors in combat, although certainly not the end-all-be-all of battle. Nonetheless, an advantage in this category can often be the difference maker in a battle to the death. Let’s see how these two cats size up.
Our bobcat is about twice the size of a typical domestic cat, weighing in at about 40 pounds in a best-case scenario. He is about four feet long with maybe five inches added by his bobbed tail.
However, the cougar can weigh up to approximately 220 pounds and his length is about 4 ½ feet with an additional three if you count his long tail. This gives him a pretty clear advantage in this category, as he is over twice as large as our bobcat.
The bobcat will have to find another way to declare victory, as he is unlikely to overpower his opponent.
Advantage: Cougar
Bobcat vs Cougar: Speed/Movement
Our agile bobcat can run up to 30 miles per hour and due to his smaller stature, has the ability to outmaneuver his larger opponent. This may be one of his greatest advantages if he can keep the cougar off-balance with his speed.
On the other hand, the cougar is himself an agile creature, and his muscles and powerful legs grant him the ability to run up to 50 miles per hour, which means once a battle between these two fierce cats begins, the bobcat is not going to be able to escape unless he manages to fatigue the larger cougar.
Despite the maneuverability advantage, it’s not as great as you may expect when facing a larger foe, and since the cougar can run so much faster, he’s going to take this category, too.
Advantage: Cougar
Bobcat vs Cougar: Weapons
It’s not looking good for the bobcat so far, but he’s not out of this fight yet. There are still categories ahead which can gain him an advantage and give him a chance to turn the tables. Let’s consider what weapons each feline brings to battle and see how they stack up.
It appears that each warrior has brought the same weapons: powerful jaws and sharp claws.
They also tend to employ the same style of ambush attacking, going for the back of the neck of their prey or perhaps the skull.
This one is going to be a draw.
Advantage: Tie
Bobcat vs Cougar: Intelligence
This is another category where the bobcat could hope to take advantage, but once more, the two are strikingly similar.
Each shares the same ability to learn and adapt as the other, and as neither ranks near the top of the big cat intellectual scale, neither is going to gain the advantage in this category.
Advantage: Tie
Bobcat vs Cougar: Hunting Skills/Instincts To Kill
Each of these felines hunts by ambushing their prey and often try to end the fight with a powerful jaw bite to the back of the neck when possible.
As far as aggressiveness, the cougar is slightly more aggressive towards humans than a bobcat, but attacks by either are rare and each variety of large cat prefers to simply avoid humans.
One area in which the bobcat excels is in sense of smell, which he uses to track his prey and then conceals himself before he strikes.
Cougars do not have as powerful a sense of smell and wait behind rocks or other cover for their meals to walk by before using their speed and powerful jumping ability to sneak attack.
It should be noted that Bobcats are adept at going after prey that is significantly larger than they are, especially considering the body size ratio. Because of that and the additional victory in the olfactory department, the bobcat is going to take this one.
Advantage: Bobcat
Bobcat vs Cougar: Weaknesses
What weaknesses do these two felines have that the other can exploit to gain an advantage in combat?
The bobcat does not have any particular disadvantage as far as hunting skills except for his small stature, which means he may not be as strong as others his size, but he typically makes up for that with his speed and ability to ambush. He may lose some points for his shyness, which makes him less aggressive.
The cougar’s only serious weakness is his weak sense of smell which fails to provide an adequate alert when danger approaches. Yet, this could play a major role in a one-on-one encounter as each species attacks from ambush.
This is a tough decision because the cougar has a valid weakness which can interfere with his ability to sense danger and survive. The bobcat is certainly not weak and he more than makes up for lower power with his speed in the wild, so it’s not really a weakness, just a disadvantage in this particular battle.
What the heck, we’ll call it a tie since it could go either way depending on how you consider weaknesses.
Advantage: Tie
| Bobcat | Cougar | |
| Size | ✓ | |
| Strength | ✓ | |
| Intelligence | Draw | Draw |
| Aggression | ✓ | |
| Agility | ✓ | |
| Speed | ✓ | |
| Fighting Instincts | ✓ |
Final Verdict: Who Would Win In a Fight
The bobcat has been outmatched from the very beginning with size and speed, and every category since has proven to be strikingly similar to that of his cougar opponent, making it difficult for him to gain an edge.
His best opportunity is to take advantage of the cougar’s weak sense of smell and get the upper hand with a one-bite throat kill. He has the advantage of familiarity with taking on prey that is considerably larger, but will the size differential allow him to take down the cougar with one powerful bite?
If that fails or if he is detected before pulling off his attack, in one-on-one combat it is highly unlikely that the bobcat can overcome his larger foe and he is unlikely to escape because the cougar can run faster and is able to climb as well.
Therefore, we have to award our trophy to the cougar for this one.
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