Bottom line...A buddy called and I asked if I would help with a friend's bobcat woes. The bobcat is eating their birds. We sat for nearly 6 hours overnight with a caller and wiggler and had no luck. We will be back and I was hoping y'all could suggest something to increase our chances for success. What I did learn is that the bobcat tended not to show up when people were on property, so we were probably screwed from the start, but now we know the lay of the land.

Background to the problem:

They have pheasant (caged when I visited, only a couple remain), peacock (caged when I visited, 2 remain), free range ducks (5 remain) and geese (3 remain) that don't leave. There are also 5 donkeys and 2 llamas on the 40 acres, but all the action takes place around the little 1-2 acre 'lake' (where the ducks and geese reside) and around the bird cages. The 3 bird cages are maybe 70 yards from the lake and are ~200 sq ft in size, 30-50 yards from the cabin. The property is visited by the owners 2-3 nights a week. The area is and open forest type of situation around the cabin and lake area, but there is an open adjacent pasture that is probably 25-30 acres in size. The lake is part of a dammed draw, so there is a dry creek leading into the and out of the property. The properly is fenced with hog and cattle panels, topped with barbed wire.

Game cameras revealed that the cat comes at night it appears to be the same cat returning. Attacks on the caged birds were accomplished by the cat reaching between the wires and grabbing the birds, pulling their heads off or consuming what it could through the wire. The cages have been reinforced with smaller gapped mesh and so now the bobcat is going after the ducks and geese. The last successful attack was last week on a goose.

The owner has a couple of box traps set near the bird cages, that have only yielded coons.

We will only be able to get out to this place infrequently, so what I am looking for is suggestion on what we could bring along with us and set up for the night that might improve our chances. Next time we go, we plan on making it appear as little as possible like people have returned, assuming we can be there when the owners don't plan on being there.

Big Bird costume. Plenty of room for your AR underneath. Just keep your head “On a Swivel” and don’t let that cat get the drop on you.





Or….you could put a bird in one of the box/live traps... place it in an elevated spot (about 5’-6’ high), place brush around it so the kitty can only approach from the front (make a funnel in front of it), set a leg hold trap at the base (don’t just set it on top of the ground, set it properly). The cat will be forced to walk up in front of and just below the bait bird, good chance it will step in the trap. Dispatch the cat.

I had a friend, (he's passed on now) many years ago he was turkey hunting one morning. He had his decoys sat up out in front of him, and he was in some tall grass, using it as a blind. He was calling some birds, when all of a sudden something jumped on his head and shoulders, and knocked him to the ground. By the time he fought it off and recovered his 10ga it was too far off to kill, but he shot at it anyway. It was a large bob cat. I like to set up next to tree when possible.

If you've got some turkey decoys, early morning might be able to lure him out for a shot. Fowl seems to be his preferred dish. Maybe you can download some turkey calls for the electronic call as well.

Good luck.

When it comes to cats you cannot beat a snare. Make the loop smaller than you would for coyotes. Find where he's coming through the fence or make a small hole. Put out some kind of visual attractor buy the hole. A bird wing hanging from a string would be perfect. Be patient you will get him.

I saw a pretty neat deal on mountain men, on the history channel, where a guy had a neat setup for a lynx. He used a grouse after he removed the breast meat for his own consumption. Set the grouse up dangling by a little wire so it would blow in the wind, and set up some brush to funnel the cat into the leg hold trap, so that it could not access the bird from the sides. I don't see why it wouldn't work in a bobcat, I suppose you'd have to hide the trap with leaves instead of snow and maybe use a chicken or something. otherwise same deal. It was pretty slick...

As I stated, we can only make it there infrequently. Using a snare or other live trap would be unethical. The owner already has some traps out, but I will suggest he expand his trap considerations. He is on property more than we will be.

Have you talked to The Hessien about sitting in some tall grass and practicing his turkey calls.....

You know I'd do it for you man, but I'm busy till the end of Oct, and this ain't a weekend trip.

If the snares are set to kill they are very ethical. The only bad part is that the hide will be junk if not retrieved quickly. Just my two cents. Good luck! I hope you get him

Snare with a good 'cam lock' will kill quickly, but you need to know what you are doing when setting snares...as they are non-selective. A few things can be done to decrease the chances of catching non-target animals. Even so, ANY type of trap/snare needs to be checked daily, so none are really a good option if you can't check them every 12-24 hrs. Same thing with leg-hold traps (my preference for bobcat).

In any case, it will be a difficult task. Bobcats have a fairly large home range, so unless the property happens to be where the bobcat has its 'primary' den (they have several dens), then it probably isn't spending a lot its time on the property anyway. Visiting only to make a 'kill' at its own choosing. IF the area was tightly fenced (read poultry wire) then you could create a small entrance hole....perhaps enticing the cat to use it. But lacking that...the cat is free to approach from any angle at any time.

Bobcats are not known to travel long distances in response to calls, not to mention when they DO come...it is often at a snails pace and with considerable caution. If you do choose to call again, move as far away from the 'hub' (cabin, lake, animals) as you can get.... and still be able to see the animal approach. Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with it. This cat knows where the food is, knows when people are and AREN'T around and knows the danger. Bobcats make a living being 'stealthy', so naturally they are better at it than we are.

That doesn't mean you can't kill this cat, but if ethics (traps/snares) are going to be a stumbling block for the owner or hunter...then I predict all the fowl will be gone long before the Bobcat.

Best of luck, hope you get him/her.

Look at these traps that I found on CL.



Best Coyote/Bobcat Traps $295
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/grd/5115894321.html

via cPro Craigslist App
iOS: http://tinyurl.com/CL-iDevice
Android: http://tinyurl.com/CL-Android

Chicken distress on a Fox pro and a good light, he should be easy to fool since he's so comfortable.

DNS - if you need help I can cover one night a week. Give me a call... and we'll meet up for that burger too!

<grin>
Mickey

Find someone with cat hounds and take the dogs into the thickest cover closest to the problem. If the dogs are worth a dang, problem should be solved in short order.
Adios,
Gary

If the owner really wants to keep his birds..... Leg trap leading into a funnel away from where the birds are kept. Be very careful about leaving scent. Otherwise, prolly won't be any birds to worry about.

I have successfully called them, but it isn't a perfect science.

Theyre not hard to call in and dispatch after dark. Be still and keep the red light on him, and he cant see you behind it. The light itself will not spook him.

A shotgun with magnum #4 buckshot and a full choke works wonders out to about 40 or 50 paces. I bagged these 2 within 300 yds of my front porch here in Caddo just this season.

I've been told that you can get a stuffed toy, or even a real bird, tie them onto a spring from the hardware store, then stake to the ground. Tie a fishing line to it leading back to your blind. Blow a wounded rabbit call and wiggle the spring every so often. I've been meaning to try it, but the first spring I bought was too weak.

But I agree that it would be a slow process. Cats are slow and stealthy.

We ha the same problem here but getting our free range chickens and guinees during the day. We had a little more luck than yall on our hands because me and my dad were tuning some broadheads to our bows when he decided to jump on our guinee! we ran to the coop to find him knawing on our guinee 15 yards back in the woods. Not a good ending for that little fella with a pass through shot through the lungs.Ended up being a good start to our hunting season