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In the '60s and early '70s there were more bobcat than they are now. There was also no season and a bounty paid by most county's. People hunted all the time and killed most everything they treed. So maybe we need to go back to no season and a year around bounty by that logic we will have a lot of bobcats. Not. Just maybe there is something else going on. There are less bobcats taken now than then. Just maybe it is a change in the habitat??? By the tooth records and studies the bobcat population is stable for the habitat conditions and yes areas can be over harvested but there are huge areas that feed into these places. If we want more bobcats in the northwest we need more clear cuts and or burns. The old lion hunters that I talked to said years ago you only found bobcats around burns, there were more lion than bobcats. The logging of the '50s made the habitat for our cats out here in the timber country. On private timber ground where there is a lot of logging there are a lot of cats. We just don't have access to it anymore. I wonder what caused that? If we lose the trapping, hound men will be next. Just maybe we need them far more than some of us would like to believe. The trapper have beat the vote twice here just maybe we could or should learn something from them. We are all in this together as long as the antis can keep us fighting among ourselves they will win. It will take every hunter , trapper and fisherman with the backing of the timber companies to keep us in the woods. Just maybe we will need the government, game commission, and the vote of the people to accomplish this???? If we worked as hard at getting there support as we do bad mouthing them we would be a little better off. WE have no body to blame but ourselves for where we are at. What are we going to do about it MORE OF THE SAME??? Think about it. If I stepped on some toes here good if it does some good. Just think before you speak against someone or something that you don't agree with. I can be just as guilty as anyone on this at times. Dewey

Dewey, very well said I for one am one that gets alittle opinionated at times . So what it boils down to is what ever sport we choose ethics is a must so be it hounds or trapping or snaring stop and THINK ethics. Andy

Dewey I realize logging & reforestation practices have a tremendous impact on the bobcat population in this area. I have bought a trappers license since the early seventies & for the past 35 year or so have hated to find a cat in a coyote set. And have pulled sets that cats were caught in. I suspect the cat population in this area is close to the same as in the mid 90. However if the prices remain high for a period of time that will surely decline? In the past # have very slowly risen after the bottom fell out of the fur market. With the recent rise in cat prices & THE STRUGGLING ECONOMY, realize it will be hard for some hunters to leave a cat in fur season. My wife has told me many times we hound hunters are a big reason the cat population has declined. This original post was about saving female bobcats & hard for me to understand how anyone could argue saving females is not important for keeping a healthy cat population. I will not tell anyone how they should vote on the trapping measure, tried that with a couple sister in laws & they informed me they were voting yes, as they did on measure 18. Will part with a question for you. Why is it that states like Texas & Florida still have such good cat populations?If I went to one of those states and said I here to see how many cats I can kill, how popular would I be with the hunter who started this post? Nothing personal just something to think about. JC I know you have saved some cats , GREAT. Al

First let me say how much i like reading the bobcat section. What a great bunch of people with a wealth of knowledge that they are willing to share. Thank you all for your stories, advice and helpful hints and tips.

Al, in response to your question. I think there are several things that go into the Texas bobcat population. One thing Texas has a is some great habitat. This is partly due to the native brush species and their benefit to the wildlife. Nearly every type of brush that grows down here is edible and has some beneficial nutrition to the wildlife.

Another beneficial factor is the deer hunters. These people spend countless amounts of dollars every year improving the habitat. Most of them aren't aware that their improvements are also helping the rodents and birds. Many of which the bobcat love to dine on. The fact is that any time you clear evasive or nonbeneficial plant species, your helping all animals that reside in or near there. The deer hunters are also spending a lot of time and money filling and maintaining corn and protein feeders. These are also frequented by the birds and rodents that the bobcat so loves.

Predator control however might have the biggest effect on the bobcat population in my experience. Several years back I noticed that other ranches in the neighborhood had a substantial amount more cats than I did. I started pondering on my problem and soon came up with the solution. I was short on bobcat feed! I instantly got on top of the problem and started seeing results. I drove our fence line (high fence) hanging snares in every hole I could find. I set the snares big enough to catch a coyote but a bobcat could slip right through. I also went around every deer feeding pen and put out traps. In the first two years I caught over 300 coyotes. This is on a ranch (not mine but i wish) that was just over 6,500 acres. I also caught just under 300 coons. The quail and turkey population exploded! The rabbits have taken a little longer to recover. I believe that to be because of the 5+ years of drought.

To make a long story even longer. I believe that while there is no bounty on the coyotes and not many people are trapping coon. The predators are destroying the rodents and bird population. By thinning out the predators (other than bobcats) you will improve the bobcats table fare population. In turn this will help your bobcat population. Sometimes we have to put out a little extra effort in order to preserve our much cherished wildlife. I can tell you now, it's not near as hard to find a bobcat track to run. JMO

One thing I have noticed and it is something that I have thought for a long time. I hunted some ground this year that has not been hunted in a long time. The area is surrounded by private . I caught 6 toms in there this year. No females and no little ones. I believe the toms are the biggest reason the population is not bigger than it is around here. The habitat is good. One other thing I have noticed is the rabbits are not as plentiful. I released more cats this past year than I killed . Something that I take a lot of pride in.


jc

this past weekend I talked to a houndsman who bragged he killed every cat he treed.. he bragged about the 5 mumma cats with kittens he killed this winter too.... hes a guide too.. I tild him what I thought of him and took off before I hit him.... rrrrrrrrrrrrr