WASSMER ET AL.: SOUTH-CENTRAL FLORIDA BOBCAT ECOLOGY 189

as avenues of travel. High levels of use of unpaved roads and similar features
may be related to higher abundance of prey along their edges coupled with a
better opportunity for a stealthier approach as compared to stalking in more
dense areas (see Food Habits section).
 In south-central Florida, Alabama (Miller 1980), and presumably elsewhere
in the southeast, an abundance of suitable rest sites provided by dense thickets,
vine-covered areas, patches of palmettos, etc. may allow less restricted
movements than some other regions. For example, McCord (1974) stated that
in an area in Massachusetts ledges were important to bobcats and their
location was a factor influencing bobcat movements; and in relatively
sparsely-vegetated areas in Idaho (Bailey 1972) and California (Zezulak and
Schwab 1979) bobcats tended to occur in areas with rock falls, caves, and other
such features. In severe weather, movements were even more restricted to
these areas, which were in high demand and were frequently shared among
several cats.

 Use of Area Within Home Ranges.- Based on the distribution of radio
 fixes in 4-ha quadrats, adults visited from 10 to 62% of the area in their overall
 home ranges. Males appeared to use their home ranges less thoroughly than
 did females. Five males were recorded in from 14 to 34% (X = 27) of their
 home range quadrats compared with 10-62% (X = 40) for seven females,
 although the difference was not significant (U = 7,p > 0.05, 2-tailed). About
 47% of the quadrats visited by females contained more than one fix, as
 compared with only 29% for males. As in the case of the proportion of
 quadrats used, this difference points to more intensive utilization of the home
 range by females. The highest number of locations in a single quadrat
 recorded for any individual was 59 for the semi-tame female F1 in the quadrat
 including the dwelling at which she was occasionally fed and often rested. The
 distribution of her locations outside of this area was not obviously different
 from that of other females in the population.
 Comparison of the distributions of active and inactive (= rest sites)
 locations, indicates that, although inactive locations occurred throughout the
 range, there was a tendency for them to be clumped into 2-6 vaguely defined
 areas near the periphery of the home range. An average of 42% (range =
 32-51) of the home range quadrats used by females contained rest sites,
 compared with 27% (range = 17-36) for males, indicating that females used
 relatively more areas within the home range for resting. Of quadrats with
 fixes, an average of 17% of those in both male and female home ranges
 contained only rest sites. Thus there appeared to be no sex difference in the
 relative proportion of the home range area used only for resting.

 Relationships Between Adult Home Ranges.- Figures 3-5 show the spatial
 relationships of bobcats in the core area during the 12 time intervals from 28