Well said Mr. Cameron. I am a relatively new Resident of North Central Indiana after my wife and I moved here from South Central Kentucky 5 and 1/2 years ago. I will say and admit that I have hunted some in my 68 years but I am not very good at it. Trust me, when I am in the woods, the wildlife are pretty much safe. I was initially very surprised to discover that there was No hunting season for Bobcat here in Indiana. I didn’t know the history of Bobcat being hunted and/or trapped heavily here in the past. You are correct (imo) I think on every point. Bobcats are No different than any other creature. They must go and live where they Can survive if the species is To survive. It is an understatement to say how dramatically different the habitat and environment here are compared to where we moved from (apples and oranges). The hills, rock ledges and ridges of Kentucky (every where there is named some sort of “Ridge”) and of course vast forests, waterways and woodlands afford much better habitat for Bobcat and other critters.
Bobcats are primarily nocturnal as I am sure that most outdoorsmen know. Some years ago, before I moved to Indiana, I and a friend tried Coyote hunting by using an electronic call. And yes, there was at the time a very liberal Bobcat season of hunting and trapping in Kentucky. We always knew that there was a possibility of calling in a Bobcat even though we Only hunted in the daytime. I must admit that the prospect of calling in and bagging a Bobcat excited me at the time. But I am happy to say that we never saw a Bobcat when trying to call Coyotes. I am happy to say that I have never killed a Bobcat or even saw one during our hunts. I Do, however have a whole different philosophy regarding Coyotes. More on that later. I see Bobcats as Not that much different than a large house cat and of course Bobcats are wild. And Very timid of humans.
I see the dilemma of the Bobcat very similar to the Almost disappearance of Quail where we had lived in Kentucky. When I moved to Kentucky in the mid to late ‘70s from Georgia, Quail were plentiful at that time. It was no problem to walk a field with or without dogs and flush a covey of Quail. Fast forward to about the 90’s and even moreso now, that is Not the case. Quail have been hit hard by Coyotes and the common house cat in recent decades. In those late 70’s I mentioned, there was No presence of Coyotes there. That was only One big change. Another big change is that people got careless with their house cats. The people would move away and leave their cats behind. So the house cats took to the fields where they found the Quail nests on the ground to be easy pickings. But one change that really hit the Quail population hard is the Elimination of their habitat. Where we moved from is part of Appalachia. A Very small, rural and Very depressed area. Virtually No industry existed there in those mid to late 70’s. People farmed and worked menial jobs to support their families. Then in the early 80’s, a textile industry came in and it was like a Gold boom compared to earlier days. So now people had money to build homes and businesses. And for that came the need for real estate. People sold off their farms to make way for those homes and businesses. And thus, the Quail lost their habitat. Many years ago, our Sheriff took upon himself to raise Quail and turn them loose in the environment to try to repopulate the species. It didn’t work though because the Quail were partly “tame” being raised by humans so they were easy prey for predators. I didn’t intend to get so long winded with this but I am simply making the point that there must be a balance. More accurately, checks and balance.
It was mentioned on here of Bobcats killing deer. Yes it happens but it is rare. They would have a hard fight with a grown deer and if it’s a buck with any antlers, I just can’t see a Bobcat going there when rabbits are more plentiful. I can see a stray fawn being an easy meal for a Bobcat.
It should be obvious by now that I don’t support the arbitrary killing of Bobcats. I don’t see them making that big of an impact on wildlife because of those previous mentioned reasons; they are already few, they are nocturnal primarily and they Do not hunt in packs. They are solitary animals as are all felines in North America to my knowledge. And when they do kill, it is to survive. Before I wrap this up, I have to get in a few statements on Coyotes. They are a much bigger danger to wildlife than Bobcats imo. There are more of them. They do hunt in packs so they can more easily take down a deer. They have no problem hunting night or day. They are Very aggressive. Even moreso when they have interbred with Wolves. This is where my bias comes in towards Coyotes. They are Not timid and will attack humans. Bobcats have attacked humans but it is reported to be rare and usually due to the Bobcat being Rabid and therefore changing its behavior patterns. Coyotes could also attack humans of course because they are Rabid but Coyotes Will attack humans for a meal. It has happened!