Any bobcat trappers out there?

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Originally Posted by RayShimley

More bobcats means less rabbits, mice, and squirrels. I realize it may be tough to get the basics of population ecology through your notoriously thick skull, but the eradication or expansion of a predator population would not be predicted to have a positive or negative effect on a species of which it (or its primary prey) does not significantly prey upon.

Just because something is labeled a "predator" does not mean that it will impact all "prey" species negatively OR positively. There is a relatively low carrying capacity for bobcats in Iowa due to the limited amount of habitat and their large range sizes (22 sq miles for males), and there is no evidence whatsoever that their populations could ever reach a level where their miniscule incidental intake of pheasants would have any significant negative impact on pheasant populations.

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And yet they continue to expand.

"According to Todd Gosselink, a DNR forest wildlife research biologist, bobcats have increased considerably in southeast Iowa over the last three years.

"Bobcat numbers in Missouri have grown substantially, and they're likely just moving up from there into Iowa," said Gosselink, who is leading a study with the DNR and Iowa State University.

Gosselink estimates the bobcat population had been growing 12 percent each year. Since regulated harvest seasons began in 2007, the growth rate has probably decreased to between 6 and 8 percent. Female bobcats usually have two to three kittens per year."

I see a lot more rabbits, mice and squirrels than I do pheasants. Maybe they have been eating fewer pheasant because there are fewer pheasant. Bobcat are hunters of opportunity. Is there any information on bobcat stomach content from 10 years ago?

The Hawk Eye

The biggest factor in pheasent population in Iowa is hawks meaning the birds not the team. That is a fact. The other one is weather, end of story

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Originally Posted by bringmagicback

The biggest factor in pheasent population in Iowa is hawks meaning the birds not the team. That is a fact. The other one is weather, end of story

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If that is a fact, show me a number. Climate/weather and habitat loss are and always will be the greatest impacts to open ground nesting birds like pheasants. Predation and, more notably, nest raiding, cause an impact, but not near the impact of the above 2.

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Originally Posted by CyOps

And yet they continue to expand.

"According to Todd Gosselink, a DNR forest wildlife research biologist, bobcats have increased considerably in southeast Iowa over the last three years.

"Bobcat numbers in Missouri have grown substantially, and they're likely just moving up from there into Iowa," said Gosselink, who is leading a study with the DNR and Iowa State University.

Gosselink estimates the bobcat population had been growing 12 percent each year. Since regulated harvest seasons began in 2007, the growth rate has probably decreased to between 6 and 8 percent. Female bobcats usually have two to three kittens per year."

I see a lot more rabbits, mice and squirrels than I do pheasants. Maybe they have been eating fewer pheasant because there are fewer pheasant. Bobcat are hunters of opportunity. Is there any information on bobcat stomach content from 10 years ago?

The Hawk Eye

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Interesting. So, bobcat populations grew 12% last year and pheasant populations are up by 16% this year according to the Iowa DNR. By your twisted logic, that now means that Bobcats ARE in fact good for pheasants!!!

:jimlad:

StarTribune.com Mobile | News, weather, sports

I'll go ahead and stick with the Professor at ISU who is both an expert on population ecology of bobcats, a pheasant hunter, and a conservation professional over your ramblings on how many mice and rabbits you see each year.

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Originally Posted by nhclone

If that is a fact, show me a number. Climate/weather and habitat loss are and always will be the greatest impacts to open ground nesting birds like pheasants. Predation and, more notably, nest raiding, cause an impact, but not near the impact of the above 2.

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I looked it up, just to see. It appears I incorrectly minimized the effects of predation on the pheasant populations. However, to your hawk idea: "Avian predators, such as hawks, crows and owls, also destroy nests and may kill adult birds, but they account for less than 10% of the deprecated adults and nests."

Pheasant Ecology: Predators

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Originally Posted by RayShimley

Interesting. So, bobcat populations grew 12% last year and pheasant populations are up by 16% this year according to the Iowa DNR. By your twisted logic, that now means that Bobcats ARE in fact good for pheasants!!!

:jimlad:

StarTribune.com Mobile | News, weather, sports

I'll go ahead and stick with the Professor at ISU who is both an expert on population ecology of bobcats, a pheasant hunter, and a conservation professional over your ramblings on how many mice and rabbits you see each year.

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Bobcat populations were growing by 12% per year until a hunting season was opened on them in 2007. That means that their population growth was being put in check. I don't see why that couldn't have contributed even a little bit toward the increase in pheasants. Sorry if there were too many numbers in there for you.

I didn't see where any of those experts said that increasing bobcat populations have zero effect on pheasant populations. It will be intersting to see what this year's bobcat stomach content survey shows with the increase in pheasnt population.

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Originally Posted by cyflier

Am I a bad person for still wanting to trap one?

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Just get a DMPD badge and fire at will :jimlad:

I'd eat a bobcat. I think it'd be good smoked. :twitcy:

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Originally Posted by bringmagicback

Ive caught several bobcat on fox sets, leghold with fox urine. Set it on a run and hope. The feeling of checking traps and finding your first cat is awesome and addicting. Good luck. Also just google bobcat sets or something and youll fet a lot of info. You can also call them like coyotes but prob not very good luck, prob end up with a coyote coming in. Still fun and about 20 times harder than deer hunting plus you can use high powers

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It's fun to injure, make suffer and kill a living creature?

If its legal, and he wishes to do so, whats the problem?

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Originally Posted by The_Architect

It's fun to injure, make suffer and kill a living creature?

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Ask the guy who killed the cow your lunch came from.

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Originally Posted by killerclone

Another reason this makes no sense is bobcats live in timber and heavily wooded areas, just like your picture shows. I doubt you see many or hunt pheasants in that timber habitat anyway. Not a lot of overlap between bobcat and pheasant habitat as pheasants prefer grasslands, idle fields, wetlands, croplands, haylands, and shrublands and bobcats aren't present in these areas.

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Actually not true...the picture appears to either be of a food plot edge, a timber edge or other grassy area that is cross secting a timber area...very much a gathering place for both species....

I hunt pheasants on timber edges all the time. And the overlap exists as the very reason the pheasants are there for cover and protection is why the bobcats hunt those areas.

That said, i do not believe the decline of the population of pheasants is directly attributed to bobcats. i would say its on these key factors:
1. Habitat - as crop prices have risen, every square inch of iowas black gold has been utilized.
2. Predators - With the reduced markets and declining fur prices, harvesting of the predators that wreck havoc on a pheasant nest is at an all time low. The reduction of trapping and hunting of animals such as raccoons, opossums, skunks, fox, coyotes, bobcat, mink all contribute to the decline.
3. Over Exploitation - The DNR has seen the decline and instead of reducing the harvest levels to compensate for the declining populations they simply do nothing. Well now its at a point that you might drive across the state and not see a single pheasant. If this was the walleyes in the mississippi or crappies in rathbun, they would simply adjust the bag limits while awaiting the population to re-furbish itself.
4. Weather - we had several very bad winters from a birds perspective, sleet and wet springs that contribute to bad nesting years. Get a few of those in a row and it sharply declines the populations.

The DNR is more at fault for the decline then the bobcat!!!

Don't kill the Bobcat! I like Bobcats! Kill all the coyotes you want.

I'd personally rent a helicopter and a net gun.

This chick may have something to say about your trapping activities...
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