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Great discussion. I feel that the habitat controls the population, good habitat, good feed, good populations. In coyote control work studies have shown that heavy trapping causes the females to have larger litters. Do you think this happens with cats? Does it help the over all population to remove some cats? With a stale population, no cats killed will the number of cats just keep growing? What is your input? Dewey

South Texan wrote: Sure would like to know the mortality rate of the kittens until they are up to 6 months old. Robbie

South Texan/Robbie I sure like reading your knowledge toward cat hounds and bobcats in general. The only figures I know of was taken on the California bobcat population that’s public that showed mortality rates was done in 2001 and is outdated. This is the out dated subject material.

Total acres of habit 81,695,757
Total square miles 127,650
Sex Ratio 0.50
Adult Mortality 0.41
Juvenile Mortality 0.21
Total adult cats Low 70,207 High 74,037
Population before mortality Low 120,441 High 127,010
Overall population after mortality Low 81,609 High 86,060
Annual harvest mortality 1,321

dwalton wrote: In coyote control work studies have shown that heavy trapping causes the females to have larger litters. Do you think this happens with cats? Dewey

I would have to say no Dewey heavy pressure doesn't change the bobcats litter size. I have absolutely no hard evidence to back my theory. It’s just based off of my opinion. I will say this while I was at this years fur sale, I talked with some trapper’s that continually trap the same country year after year and their harvested cats have remained stable or increased. So who knows? The areas they trap don’t have much in the way of hound hunter pressure, just varmint callers.

dwalton wrote: Does it help the over all population to remove some cats? Dewey

I absolutely believe that mature Tom’s need to be removed to have an overall healthy cat population. They are the biggest kitten killers I know of.

dwalton wrote: With a stale population, no cats killed will the number of cats just keep growing? What is your input? Dewey

I believe the numbers would grow to a certain extent. If predator control work isn't enforced on our wildlife population, I think it would probably raise the population some but then start to drop back off because of lack of new territories. Mature Toms won’t live with or allow another Tom in his established territory. Not managing cats will cause a lot to die from being transient looking for new home lands with water and prey species, but most importantly without being preoccupied by another Tom bobcat.

I will say this bobcats won’t live or stay in an area where no other bobcats exist. They won’t live with each other (with the exception of females) but don’t want to be the only species of their kind in an area. It will cause them to move on and become killed by either, Mountain Lions Wolves, Diseases, accidents, cars, and starvation will become the leading causes of death. Juveniles show high mortality shortly after leaving their mothers, while still learning their hunting skills to effectively feed themselves.

Kittens are taken by predators like owls, eagles, hawks, coyotes, foxes, as well as other adult male bobcats. When a predator food source is not abundant, fewer kittens will reach adulthood.

Predator Control has to happen for the population to be healthy and not fall to other deaths.

This is just my opinion and not base on nothing but my bobcat and wildlife knowledge. I'm sure others will see it differently. This is the reasons for an open forum, to get a counsel of decisions based on our experiences and observations we have gained while being observant in the woods.

This has been a interesting thread thanks for everyone's input.

In my observation I do not find male cats to by very territorial. In a given year I may havest several adult males in close proximity, so either they have a very small range or they get along given there is enough prey. Rumor has it there is some data coming out of a Mt Emily couger study that supports this about lions as well. Mike

Tim took 9 adult toms from a two mile section on the same road this winter. When someone else killed the two females no more toms showed up. What does this mean? I think that there is a lot more cats than people think and when a tom is removed another with come and check on the females. On the bobcat study in the Cascades the toms over lap on the ridges and bottoms as far as territories go. Dewey

Dewey
It might be helpful if you could post the summary from that bobcat study. Do you have it in digital format? What was the name of the study? Was it a published study? Basically, where can I find the author. I think it would be helpful if everyone had a better understanding of territories, breeding and diet.

Don

After reading some California studies it appears that California has a new silent killer of cats, coyotes, grey fox, and lions that has been brought to the California Wildlife Biologists attention in recent years.

It’s really affecting the predator’s that is near the agriculture areas but also in the remote woods. Predators are dying from mange caused by eating infected rodents that’s been eating poisons. The cats are dying from mange, a skin disease caused by a tiny parasite. The use of rat poisons is likely the cause of the increase in mange related deaths as well as the direct cause of death for many predators that make a meal out of an infected field mouse or rat.

Animal autopsies revealed that all of the cats that died of mange had ingested anti-coagulant rat poisons. The rat poison causes blood clotting, eventually causing the predator to bleed to death internally. These poisoned rats become a meal for predators and after it’s been eaten it’s too late.

Think about all the rat poison that is scattered out in all the remote marijuana patches. Just something to think about???

Be very careful with where you use rat poison. If it’s anywhere near your hound kennels get rid of it! I have seen 2 nice hounds die a slow miserable death because of eating a poisoned rat that entered my kennel and a hunting partner of our family. It’s a sick site and nothing a vet can do to save them after they drink water, and water is the first thing they want after they eat the poisoned rat.

CRA
Great point. It should be noted that private timber companys are using more and more rodent contol behind those gates where all our cats are coming from.

Don

Don.

I think I shared my findings with you here in my local area. I can gauge the last porcupine I seen locally where I hunt. I have a dog going on four this June and he tangled with a porcupine when he was eight months old....That was the last one I have seen since...I hunt nights or days all winter long, Free casting young dogs all the time...Private timber lands represent the death to more than just our hound hunting.....

Mike

Mike,
I've seen two porcupines in the last two years compared to two hundred in that time ten years ago.
Sean