The name comes from the scientific name of the bobcat, which is "Lynx rufus". The bobcat ("Lynx rufus") is a North American wild cat. Hunts in the southern United States sometimes pursue the bobcat ("Lynx rufus"). In North Carolina, bobcats ("Lynx rufus") consumed substantial numbers of hispid cotton rats. The bobcat ("Lynx rufus") is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae.