New Bobcat Exhibit Opens At Maryland Zoo

BALTIMORE, MD — A pair of bobcats recently moved into their new home at the Maryland Zoo.

The bobcat exhibit, which the zoo announced opened Friday, is the culmination of a renovation involving demolishing high rock walls.

Zoo officials said the idea was to give the bobcats plenty of vertical space so they could jump around and climb as they would in their natural habitat.

“Bobcats are actually the most abundant wild cat in the U.S.,” Maryland Zoo Mammal Collection and Conservation Manager Erin Cantwell said. "They grow up to around 30 pounds — about twice the size as a house cat — and thrive on a varied diet of birds, mice, squirrels, rabbits and other smaller animals. They are named for their distinctive short, 'bobbed' tail.”

Two bobcats live at the Maryland Zoo: Kilgore and Josie.

Kilgore is nearly 1 year old and came to the zoo from Oregon, where a fisherman found him as a baby last June, orphaned. He will be in the exhibit where people can see him from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. as he gets used to the new digs. The zoo made a video (above) of Kilgore's reaction to his new home when he saw it for the first time.

Josie, 6, was confiscated by a private owner and taken to the Tulsa Zoo before coming to Maryland. She has not yet acclimated to the new space so will not be out for the public to see just yet, zoo officials said Friday. Her pic is below.

Frostburg State University, home of the Frostburg Bobcats, is sponsoring the bobcat exhibit.

"Since Frostburg State and bobcats share the western Maryland region, it is fitting and our privilege to partner with the Maryland Zoo to showcase a species native to our part of this great state," Frostburg President Ronald Nowaczyk said.

Maryland Zoo President/CEO Don Hutchinson is also a Frostburg alumnus.

“We hope people enjoy getting to know them and learning about these special native cats," Hutchinson said about Josie and Kilgore. “The two bobcats have very different personalities, but are both gorgeous representatives of their species."

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Although bobcats are native to western Maryland, most people do not see them because they are nocturnal animals.

The Maryland Zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1876 Mansion House Drive in Baltimore. Get ticket and other visitor info.

Photo Credit: Maryland Zoo.