How many bobcats are in the us

They mark their territory with urine, feces and claw marks. Most of their activities are confined to their territory, where it has a main den and many shelters. The bobcat preys on rabbits and hares, in addition to hunting birds, insects, chickens, rodents and deer.

They stalk their prey and pounce for the kill. The cat is most active at twilight. It can climb trees and swim if necessary. Like most wild cats, bobcats lead a solitary life. They can go without food for long periods of time. Females are pregnant for 60 or 70 days. A male travels with a female from winter to early spring, and will mate with her multiple times while they are together. Kittens are born in covered spaces, and have quite a bit of fur and spots.

They open their eyes around the ninth or tenth day after birth. Bobcats live for seven to ten years in the wild. Bobcats have been aggressively hunted for their fur, as well as for sport. The cat is protected in the countries where it lives. Other threats include disease, accidents, starvation and automobiles. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. A bobcat occupied about every 2 square miles. The Front Range study areas included land on the fringes of the city of Boulder and what is known as wildland-urban interface, the transition zone between the urban area and the wildlands.

Generally, bobcat densities were about the same as they were on the Western Slope. In some places, coyote densities are actually higher in urban areas than they are in the surrounding rural landscape.

They are generally successful at evading cars, which means they have relatively low mortality rates. Urban coyotes also enjoy an abundance of food, including discarded human food, road-killed animals, and live prey like rabbits, mice and squirrels.

A study in California found that two major freeways prevented the animals from moving distances similar to those traveled by bobcats in rural landscapes. Although home ranges vary from one region to another, Lewis found that bobcats in his study area had home ranges of anywhere from 3, acres to upwards of 10, acres. Cars likely take the heaviest toll on urban and suburban populations, but hunting and trapping in particular result in the highest mortality rate for most bobcat populations.

Even with high human-specific mortality, there will always be bobcats on the landscape thanks to the scientists who study them and the wildlife agencies who use those studies to manage them.

You may not see them, but you can be sure they can see you. By David Hart July 04, Categories Bobcat Predator. Tags Bobcats Predator Hunting. Sign Me Up! Join other outdoor enthusiasts who already get great content delivered right to their inbox. If you don't want to bring your iPad into the bathroom, we can send you a magazine subscription for free!

Popular Stories. July 28, Hunting the Common Crow. Comments on this site are submitted by users and are not endorsed by nor do they reflect the views or opinions of COLE Publishing, Inc. Each jurisdiction was asked to report: 1 what methods are employed to monitor bobcat status, 2 population estimates and average densities if available , 3 the area reported here in km 2 of suitable bobcat habitat within the jurisdiction, and 4 post population trends.

Monitoring methods were classified as public sightings, harvest analysis, hunter surveys, population models, scent or sign stations, snow track surveys, incidental harvest, vehicle collisions analysis, or other. We primarily present information from U. We compared the proportion of states reporting increasing or stable populations between and Woolf and Hubert using chi-square tests. We only included states that reported population trends in this analysis.

We estimated minimum population abundance and total suitable habitat as the sum of population or habitat estimates across all jurisdictions. This method provided a general estimate of population abundance across the entire United States that facilitates comparison with historic estimates that used similar methods USFWS We received responses from 47 of the 48 states, 7 Canadian provinces, and Mexico.

Twenty-eight Of the 48 jurisdictions that reported population trends, 31 Only one jurisdiction, Florida, reported decreasing bobcat populations Figure 1.

The minimum population estimate in the United States was between 1,, and 2,, individuals, representing Using average density, the total population abundance in the United States was estimated to be between 2,, and 3,, individuals. Bobcat monitoring methods Monitoring , population estimates N , range extent Habitat, in km 2 , and population status Status; —present for selected jurisdictions in North America.

NR indicates data were not reported by jurisdiction. Of the 55 jurisdictions surveyed, 45 Harvest data analysis and hunter surveys were the most commonly used methods Table 2. Only one jurisdiction Oregon reported having bobcat populations but no monitoring method. Methods used to monitor bobcat populations in the lower 48 states and 7 Canadian provinces in 45 jurisdictions reporting.

Bobcats are highly adaptable carnivores and are the most abundant of North America wild felids Cowan ; Anderson and Lovallo Their ecological role and economic value as furbearers are the primary motivations behind research and management of bobcats Woolf and Nielsen All other states that reported bobcat population trends, with the exception of Florida, reported at least stable populations.

Although the magnitude of population increase likely varies considerably among jurisdictions, the general trend supports the hypothesis that bobcat populations are expanding across much of their geographic range. The reason for declining populations in Florida is unknown, although extensive human development may be partly responsible. Given the stability of bobcat populations elsewhere in the United States, the decreasing population in Florida does not pose any immediate threat to the large-scale persistence of bobcat populations in the United States.

However, research into the vital rates and demographic patterns of the Florida bobcat population could provide useful information to wildlife managers if populations elsewhere begin declining. In similar methods were used to estimate bobcat populations; at that time it was estimated there were ,—1,, bobcats in the United States USFWS Using these methods, our data indicate that current bobcat population abundance in the entire United States is 2,,—3,, This growth is likely the result of many factors including changing agricultural and land-use practices, range expansion, and habitat improvement programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program FSA , 16 U.

In addition, advances in wildlife management and monitoring have allowed states to greatly improve wildlife management programs in recent decades, particularly furbearer management. As recently as , 40 of the 48 contiguous United States had no protection or formal management of bobcats Faulkner In New York, for example, bobcats were designated as an unprotected species and take was unregulated through , only 5 y prior to the population estimate USFWS After , bobcats were afforded legal status as a furbearer species to be conserved, and harvest regulations were developed and implemented.

Similar shifts in management paradigms have occurred in many jurisdictions; these have clearly benefited bobcat populations. Bobcat harvests did increase during —, but recent harvest levels are comparable to those three decades earlier 36, harvested during — verses 37, during — , despite this increase in population size Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, unpublished data.

This is likely due to decreased harvest effort. Because population survey methods were not standardized across jurisdictions, there is likely substantial variability in the accuracy of the estimates provided by management agencies. For example, only six states used any form of population model in their monitoring of bobcat populations, likely because of the paucity of accurate data available for developing such models.

Similarly, 19 states failed to report population estimates. Although this variability may be substantial, it does not preclude comparison to previous reports USFWS or interpretation of jurisdiction-specific population trends. Agency surveys such as this provide the only feasible means of providing range-wide population assessments, because field-based surveys would be logistically and financially impractical.

Although the level of detail in such surveys is limited, they can provide a cost-effective means to estimate large-scale population trends. At the statewide scale, harvest surveys were the most commonly used approach for monitoring bobcat populations, which is not surprising given that these data can be obtained for large geographic areas at relatively low costs.

Unlike harvest analysis or scent stations, methods such as hunter surveys that do not require market-based incentives or extensive field labor may be more practical methods for monitoring bobcat population trends. As with many species, enumeration of population abundance is not required for proper management.