Hints on Bobcat Trapping

Part 1

Transcriber Notes

Text emphasis is displayed as Italics.

HINTS ON

BOBCAT

TRAPPING

=============

=============

BOBCAT is the name by which the wild cats of the genus Lynx are known in most of the United States, particularly the warmer parts--West and Southwest. Though related to the mountain lion, or cougar, both being members of the same family, the bobcat is a much smaller animal and of somewhat different habits, so far as the selection of prey is concerned. Its larger cousin, the Canada lynx, is found in the northern, more forested, parts of the United States and in Canada. The economic relations of the two are similar, except as forest-dwelling habits are modified by the bobcat's environment of plains and deserts in the Southwest. The bobcat has keen eyesight and a good sense of smell, though the latter is not so acute as in the wolf or the coyote. Most of its hunting for food is done at night, and the animal is aided by sight rather than by scent. The advance of settlement and the occupation of the bobcat's former ranges for stock raising have not so much crowded back this predator as they have given it a new and satisfying provender, particularly in the young of the flocks and herds of the stockman and the poultry of the farmer. Control of its depredations at times becomes necessary to man's economic welfare.

Washington, D. C. Issued June, 1931

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. Price 5 cents

HINTS ON BOBCAT TRAPPING

By Stanley P. Young, Principal Biologist, in Charge Division of Predatory-Animal and Rodent Control, Bureau of Biological Survey

CONTENTS

Page

Nature of depredations 1

Where to trap 2

"Blind" trap sets 2

Scented trap sets 3

Preparation of scent 4

Catnip oil as a lure 5

Care in details 5 Rust on traps 6 Frozen ground 6 Deodorizing traps 6 Paper trap pads 6

Resetting traps 6

TRAPPING has been found to be one of the most effective methods of bobcat control. On its wild ranges the bobcat feeds to a large extent upon rabbits and other injurious rodents, but it preys also upon such valuable forms of wild life as antelope, deer, and other game animals, especially the fawns, and on wild turkeys, quail, and other ground-nesting birds. With human occupation of its former haunts, it finds in the young of domestic livestock very satisfactory substitutes for its ordinary fare in the wild. When its food is less easily obtained in nature than among the flocks and herds of the range country, it may become exceedingly destructive to domestic livestock, especially to sheep during the lambing season, to pigs, goats, and calves, and to poultry. The depredations of bobcats in parts of Arkansas in recent years have made hog raising on an extensive scale impracticable in such localities. Losses caused by this predatory animal among sheep are particularly severe when lambing is conducted on the open range and the lambing grounds are in close proximity to the broken, rough, rocky canyons that favor the presence of the bobcat. Sheepmen often choose such rugged country for lambing grounds because of the protection it affords against storms.

Nature of Depredations

On gaining entry into a flock of sheep at lambing time, commonly under cover of darkness, the bobcat carries on its depredations in such manner as to cause little commotion there. The lamb is usually killed by a characteristic bite on the back of the neck or head, and then it is pulled down to be eaten. If its lust for killing is not satisfied, the bobcat may kill other lambs by the same method, continuing its work quietly until a large number have been destroyed. A single bobcat has been known to kill 38 lambs in this manner in one night.

Bobcats are easily caught in traps of the common double-spring steel type, in sizes 2 and 3. Such traps have been used by many generations of trappers, and although deemed inhumane by some persons, no better or more practical device has yet been invented to take their place. The brief description here presented of trapping methods to be used in bobcat control is based on field experiences of Federal and cooperative trappers who have applied methods developed by the Bureau of Biological Survey.

Where to Trap

In selecting a site for trap sets, one should be guided to a large extent by the tracks of the animal (fig. 1) and by other traces of its presence, which are commonly found in the rugged recesses of the open range. Such places as leached limestone ridges, limestone cap rock, or eroded granitic canyons containing an abundance of small caverns and holes surrounded by rather extensive underbrush form the ideal habitat of the bobcat. This may be in low-lying country or in adjacent higher mountainous areas. Though it is advisable to use the greatest caution in setting bobcat traps, the care with which the art is practiced need not be so great as in the case of the wolf or the coyote.

Part 2

When the trail of a bobcat has been found, by track or sign, along, or leading from its rocky lair, traps may be placed in either double or single sets. If the trail is not frequently used by livestock also, or by such big-game animals as deer, the so-called "blind" trap set may be employed. This set is called a blind because no lure or scent need be used around it when completed.

"Blind" Trap Sets

Whether single or double blind trap sets are employed, they should be placed in holes dug directly in the trail of the bobcat close to such an obstruction as an exposed root, a rock, or a clump of weeds, for the bobcat seldom fails to step over rather than on such an obstruction in its path. (Fig. 2.) If the double set is to be used, the trap holes should be only about 1 inch apart, separated just far enough to prevent interference of the jaws when the trap is sprung. Each hole should be dug only slightly larger than the size of the trap and just deep enough to hold the set trap and allow this to be slightly lower than the level of the surrounding ground. When two traps are used, they may be joined together with a lap link at the ends of their chains, which in turn may be attached to a stake pin driven slightly below the ground level; or a drag may be used either made of wrought iron or consisting of a fairly heavy stone. The drag should be bedded under the traps, in which case more excavating will be required. It is well to have a free-acting swivel at the top of the stake pin to prevent a captive animal from twisting and breaking the trap chains attached to it.

After the trap has been firmly bedded it is advisable to cover it with fine pulverized earth similar to that found in the mound of a pocket gopher. This will do for the spring of the trap. Dry and finely pulverized horse or cow manure may be more advantageously used to cover the inside of the trap jaws. Care should be taken to keep all loose dirt from getting under the pan and to see that there is an open space beneath it of at least a quarter of an inch.

A trap pad made of canvas or of old descented slicker cloth for finally covering the pan should now be placed on the inside of the jaws; then over all should be sprinkled dry dirt to the depth of a quarter to a half inch, of the same color as the ground surrounding the trap. The spot where the trap is buried should be left in as natural a condition as possible.

Scented Trap

A scent attractive to bobcats may be used to advantage to lure the animals to trap sets. When scenting is resorted to, however, the traps should not be placed in the runway proper, but on either side of it, or on one side only, and parallel to Sets the trail. They should be set in the same manner as described for the blind sets, between the trail and the spot selected for scattering the scent. (Fig. 3.) This spot should be no more than 6 to 8 inches from the trap. In placing the scent, advantage should be taken of any stubble, bunch of weeds, exposed root, or object known as a scent post. These are so termed from the fact that they are the places selected by the animal for voiding urine or feces.

Bobcats usually have their scent posts slightly off the trail, on stubble of range grasses, on bushes, or even on old bleached-out carcasses. Where the ground conditions are right for good tracking, natural scent posts may be detected by the claw scratches and the small mound of dirt where the bobcat has covered its excrement. Such habits are similar to those of house cats. In passing along its trails, the bobcat will usually revisit these scent posts.

Continue reading Hints on Bobcat Trapping free in the Wunder reader →