How Far a Bobcat Roams: teacher key

Bobcats, grade 8 edition, written for 8th grade. Follow a bobcat on its nightly rounds, from the scent marks on its territory to the rabbits it hunts and the kittens it raises.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. About how much heavier are male bobcats than females?
   • 3 to 4 percent
   • 30 to 40 percent (answer)
   • 300 to 400 percent
2. What appears to be the main prey of bobcats across their range?
   • Deer
   • Fish
   • Cottontail rabbits (answer)
3. What does a median life expectancy tell you?
   • The middle length of life across many animals (answer)
   • The longest life ever recorded
   • The shortest life ever recorded
4. Why might a bobcat's habits differ from place to place?
   • It cannot walk far
   • It takes whatever prey is most common where it lives (answer)
   • It always eats the same food
5. Where is a daily movement of one to four miles common?
   • In Connecticut (answer)
   • In Alaska
   • In Florida
6. What is the main threat to bobcats?
   • Habitat loss (answer)
   • Cold weather
   • Their own tails

Words

• carnivore: meat eater
• predators: hunting animals
• territory: an animal's area
• generalists: uses many habitats
• median: middle value