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                                Page 
Nature of depredations --------------------  1 Care in details ------------------------------
5 
Where to trap -----.----------------------- 2  Rust on traps ---------------------------
6 
'Blind" trap sets ---------------------------  2  Frozen ground --------------------------
 6 
Scented trap sets ----------------------------  3  Deodorizing traps ---------------------
6 
Preparation  of scont ------------------------  4  Paper trap  pads -------------------------
 6 
Catnip oil as a lure ----------------------- 5 Resetting traps -----------------------------
6 
T     RAPPING     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, expecially the fawns, and on wild turkeys, quail, 
and other ground-nesting birds. With human occupation of its for- 
mer haunts, it finds in the young of domestic livestock verq satisfac- 
tory 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 exten- 
sive 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. 
ON GAINING ENTRY into a flock of sheep at lambing time, com- 
monly under cover of darkness, the bobcat carries on its depredations 
in such manner as to cause little commotion there. 
Nature of       The lamb is usually killed by a characteristic bite on 
Depredations    the back of the neck or head, and then it is pulled 
*              down to be eaten. If its lust for killing is not satis- 
fied, 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. 
 
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