Bobcats are plentiful in Oklahoma but not often seen
Oklahoman
Bryce Everett of Cashion holds two bobcats that he and Tyler Beaty of Edmond shot last month while deer hunting in Blaine County. Oklahoma's bobcat season runs through Feb. 29.
"There are lots and lots of bobcats," said Micah Holmes, spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "They are a common animal that is not commonly seen. They are very secretive."
Bobcats can be found in every county in Oklahoma, but despite their healthy population, they are one of the toughest animals to hunt and trap."They are a master of stealth," said Bryce Everett of Cashion, who has been hunting Oklahoma bobcats for 15 years. "I don't know anything sneakier in the woods than a bobcat."
Oklahoma is in the midst of bobcat season, which opened Dec. 1 and runs through the end of February. Hunters need a state hunting license and a state furbearing license.
About 15,000 to 20,000 bobcats are harvested each year by Oklahoma hunters, according to game surveys taken by the Wildlife Department.
Everyone has probably either had a housecat, or at least known someone who does. When people think of the wild relatives of the neighborhood today, many probably think of cheetahs, lions, tigers and other big cats in Africa. But we have our own wild feline right here in Oklahoma – the bobcat.
Lynx rufus is a small cat with slight ear tufts. Its back, sides and upper tail is pale to reddish brown with black spots, while the lower part of its body is white with dark spots.
Bobcats have a range that stretches from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and are found throughout the continental United States except in the upper Midwest and parts of New England. Bobcats frequent habitat types ranging from coniferous and mixed forests to desert scrublands to Cypress swamps.
Just like their larger African cousins, bobcats mark their territory with urine. A male’s home range is generally two to three times larger than that of the female’s, and it includes the ranges of several females while partially overlapping the ranges of other males. Females are much more exclusive about their territory, and their ranges do not overlap.
Bobcats generally breed in January or February, but have been known to reproduce year-round, especially when food is plentiful. Once the female has mated, she will seek out a fallen log or a rock overhang for a den. She will give birth two months later to two to five kittens. However, younger females generally produce smaller litters than older, maturer females. The kittens are weaned after two months but stay with their mother until they are around a year old and are about half-grown.
Bobcats are thought to live for around 12 years in the wild and can weigh more than 25 pounds as mature adults. Cats in the North and animals in more open areas are usually larger than those that live in the forests or in the southern reaches of their range.
While bobcats can be active throughout the day or night, they are primarily crepuscular, meaning their peak hours of activity are around dusk and dawn. Although small in stature, bobcats are very effective predators, even of large ungulates such as deer, especially fawns or yearlings. More often, though, bobcats prey on rabbits and other rodents, as well as wild turkeys and other ground-nesting birds. Male bobcats are generally larger than females, and are more likely to take down larger prey.
Bobcats have been the most heavily harvested and traded cat species in the past two decades, and interest in bobcat pelts has increased in recent years due to increased demand from furriers in China and Russia. Through effective management and responsible harvesting, the bobcat population is very healthy in Oklahoma, and sportsmen have ample opportunities to hunt or trap cats.
For those who are fortunate enough to have seen one of Oklahoma’s wild felines, it is a special occurrence. These cats are very elusive and hard to spot, but they are spectacular to watch when you are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one!
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Bobcat Population Status and Management in North America: Evidence of Large-Scale Population Increase
Nathan M. Roberts and Shawn M. Crimmins
| Abstract |
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Bobcat Lynx rufus populations are thought to be increasing in North America; however, little information exists on their current population status. In the United States, management and monitoring of bobcat populations is the responsibility of state wildlife management agencies. We surveyed state wildlife management agencies in each of the 48 contiguous states regarding the current population status, distribution, and monitoring protocols of bobcats within each respective jurisdiction. We also surveyed the governments of Mexico and Canada regarding bobcat population status within their jurisdictions. We received responses from 47 U.S. states, Mexico, and 7 Canadian provinces.
Responses indicate that bobcats occur in each of the contiguous states except for Delaware. Populations were reported to be stable or increasing in 40 states, with 6 states unable to report population trends and only 1 state (Florida) reporting decreases in bobcat populations. Of the 47 states in which bobcats occur, 41 employ some form of population monitoring.
Population density estimates were available for 2,011,518 km2 (33.6%) of the estimated bobcat range in the United States, with population estimates between 1,419,333 and 2,638,738 individuals for this portion of their range and an estimated 2,352,276 to 3,571,681 individuals for the entire United States. These results indicate that bobcat populations have increased throughout the majority of their range in North America since the late 1990s and that populations within the United States are much higher than previously suggested.
Received: December 13, 2009; Accepted: June 10, 2010 ;Published Online: November 30, 2010
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