I live in the Rio Grand Valley of deep south Texas in a heavily wooded area with native thicket. Shortly before sunset, I heard an odd thumping outside and when I looked out the window I saw a large, cat-like animal. It was very tall and lean, with a very short tail. Its coat was short and all over brown with a double black stripe down its spine. I have tried googling all the obvious cats I could think of (ocelot, jacarundi). The closest I can come up with is a young bobcat, because of the tail. Anyone have any ideas?
Is there any reason you think that it wouldn’t be a bobcat? They certainly exist in that part of the world and the coat colour is variable enough that the spots aren’t always clearly visible, especially in dim light. (Have a look at the second photo here.
Unless you have some reason to doubt it I’d put it down as a bobcat.
You probably saw a bobcat. They are relatively plentiful in the Valley compared to ocelots (only about 100 in Texas) and Jacarundi (I’ve read that none have been seen alive in the Valley in over 10 years). I saw a bobcat outside of Harlingen in December.
