I will never forget the first time I heard that sound. I was 16 years old and had been hunting ducks with my friend Eric and his father. I was in hip boots in the water, at the end of the day, waiting in the dark at the edge of the pond to signal them with a flashlight where to come back to the trail.

It’s a very hard sound to describe. “Blood curdling” comes to mind. Every hair on the back of the neck stands up. I honestly thought for a second that someone was murdering a small child. If you have ever heard that sound, you know exactly what I mean.

My initial reaction intrigues me to this day. I grabbed the flashlight like a club and started to rush back up the trail to hit whoever was hurting that infant. I made it about two steps before the bobcat that had crossed my path took off running in the dark. It was about 15 feet from me.

I’ve heard a bobcat howl a few times since. Like fingernails down a chalkboard, it always makes the hair on my arms and neck stand up. Sometimes it’s much worse than others.

The bobcat (lynx rufus) is one of four wildcats of the genus lynx. Adults range in weight from 14 to 40 pounds and are 18 to 50 inches long. They stand 12 to 24 inches tall at the shoulder. Males are larger than females.

Bobcats range from Canada to Mexico and their size follows Bergmann’s Rule. The rule tells us they are larger up North and smaller down South.

They prefer woodlands but are highly adaptable to other habitat. Bobcats are crepuscular, like their prey, meaning they are most active around dawn and dusk. During the Winter, when prey is scarce, they will hunt more during the day than at other times of the year.

Bobcats are generally solitary animals and have distinct ranges that they mark. They are ambush predators who prefer to eat rabbits. When rabbits are scarce, they eat many other things, including insects. They will even kill deer in the late Winter when the deer are weakened and stressed.

The oldest recorded wild bobcat was 16 (bear in mind that there isn’t a whole lot of such data available). The oldest one living in captivity was 32.

Bobcat litters can range from one to six kittens, but are generally two to four. They can have up to two litters per year. The kittens are born blind and don’t open their eyes until 9 or 10 days after being born. They are weaned at about two months.

These beautiful animals in the wild. I can count the number of times that I’ve seen them on my fingers. Consider yourself lucky if you have. I have, however, heard them on several occasions. It’s a sound you never forget.

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.