Bobcats and Bobwhites

Article by DALE ROLLINS, Ph.D.

Predation is the most common cause of mortality for bobwhites. The list of “whodunnits,” is long, and the equation is complex. Death from above, death in the tall grass.

Mammalian mesocarnivores such as raccoons and skunks are locally common and adroit nest predators. Raptors such as Northern Harriers are seasonally important predators of adult birds, especially during October through March.

Snakes can be nest predators, but they also prey on chicks and adult birds. Recently in Florida, a bobwhite chick was found inside a bullfrog. Indeed, just about everything (including me) likes to eat quail.

Stealth and agility afford some quail predators a leg up on other potential predators. In the raptor world, the Cooper’s Hawk is an F-16 equivalent. The mammalian analog to a Cooper’s Hawk might be the bobcat. Like Cooper’s Hawks, they may be fairly common though rarely seen. Stealth is their middle name.

Anyone who has owned a housecat can attest to the prowess of their feline in securing prey, be it a lizard or a songbird. A bobcat is likely even more skillful. After all, their existence rests upon their ability to catch their food.

BOBCAT ECOLOGY IN TEXAS

Bobcats can be found throughout the state in a variety of habitats. They prefer rocky canyons or outcrops; in rockless areas, they resort to thickets such as whitebrush for protection and den sites. Bobcats are active mostly at night.

In hilly country, they often drop their feces on large rocks on promontories or ridges. The scats are often characterized as resembling a “Tootsie Roll.” Males make scrapes—small piles of leaves and sticks on which they urinate—like those of mountain lions, only smaller.

They den in crevices in canyon walls, in boulder piles or in thickets. Breeding usually begins in February, with the young born after a gestation period of about 60 days. They may have two to seven young, with three being the average litter size.

A bobcat's diet consists mainly of small mammals such as rats, ground squirrels, mice and rabbits, and birds. They occasionally kill and eat deer, primarily fawns. Wild turkeys, quail, domestic sheep, goats and poultry are also susceptible to bobcat predation.

When playing the role of CSI, investigators should look at any and all evidence at the “crime scene” as they seek to assign cause of death. Bobcats may partially cover or cache their kills and return later to feed. Occasionally, we discover a dead

radio-collared bobwhite at the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch (RPQRR) that is completely covered, presumably by a bobcat.

Here’s something peculiar to bobcats (and likely feral housecats): look among the pile of feathers and you may discover the quail's gizzard uneaten. I don’t know why. I don’t like gizzards either.

In 2011-2012, we placed GPS-collars on coyotes, bobcats and raccoons at RPQRR to see how these three predators scoured the habitat during May-June, the peak nesting time for bobwhites. Bobcats had the largest home ranges of the three carnivores and tended to move along draws and riparian areas (heavier brush). I speculate that interactions with coyotes kept the bobcats “at bay” and mostly out of upland sites where bobwhites nest.

Bobcats usually stalk their prey and then ambush from cover. We have several game camera photographs of bobcats visiting quail feeders. Pavlov’s cats, I reckon; they likely know the feeders attract various birds and rodents.

When depredating “dummy” nests, constructed to mimic a quail or turkey’s nest, bobcats bite across the egg. They leave a portion of the yolk in the shell and the egg still in the nest.

To evaluate the impact of bobcat predation on Northern Bobwhite Quail, it is important to determine the usual composition of the average bobcat’s diet. Beasom and Moore (1977) found that bobcats in Zavala County preyed primarily upon cotton rats and cottontail rabbits, with bobwhite occurring in about 6 percent of bobcat stomachs. Rader et al. (2006) studied bobwhite nest predation, finding that only 3 percent of all depredated nests were caused by bobcats. Finally, Tewes et al. (2002) surveyed 54 scientific articles about bobcat food habits, finding quail to be present in only nine studies and typically at levels of less than 3 percent of the total bobcat diet.

While we have studied coyote diets intensively, as the subject of two masters' theses at RPQRR by analyzing scats, we’ve not been able to analyze diets of bobcats; we can’t accumulate sufficient scats for a good study.

It’s not for a lack of bobcats. I toyed with the idea of bringing in specially trained “scat sniffing dogs” from Washington to locate bobcat scats. But the $40,000 price tag for a series of four visits was too steep for my budget at the time. (Anyone interested in funding such a study?)

One of our coolest photo albums from RPQRR came courtesy of Dr. Susan Cooper, a collaborator on the coyotebobcat-raccoon study. One evening at about 6 p.m., she said she was going to cruise around with her camera to seek some interesting wildlife shots.

Boy, did she score!

She came back about an hour later with a smile as big as Texas. She had secured 45 photos of a big male bobcat subduing a big rattlesnake. Wow!

She entered one of the pictures in The Wildlife Society’s annual photo contest and earned 2nd place honors. One judge criticized that “the lighting could’ve been better.” Gimme a break!

POPULATION TRENDS IN TEXAS

How many bobcats are there in Texas? On your ranch? Nobody knows. Based on our bobcat studies using GPS collars and camera trapping at RPQRR (, I estimate we have 10-15 bobcats on the 4,700-acre property. At our 2,300-acre ongoing Erath County Quail Restoration site, a total of 20 bobcats were removed over a two-year period, mostly by snaring the perimeter netwire fence.

Some argue bobcat numbers are on the rise; I wouldn’t argue with such speculation.

Photo by S.M. Cooper

CONTROL ALTERNATIVES

Bobcats are not protected in Texas and may be taken at any time. A hunting license is required to shoot them, and a pelt tag is required to sell or trade the pelt. The best nonlethal control method is managing habitat to the benefit of prey species.

Bobcats may be taken from aircraft, though they are rarely seen during helicopter counts. For netwire fences, neck snares are effective.

In recent years, various “varmint contests” have become prevalent. For example, San Angelo is home for the West Texas Big Bobcat Contest which has become very popular. On weekends in January and February, you’ll see more “high-racked” varmint hunting rigs than team roper trailers

I like bobcats. They are a special sighting when I’m on the range. I like to call them. (I’m old school and call during daylight only with a mouth call). I have mixed emotions about the varmint contests. They presently are legal but undergoing increased scrutiny among wildlife professionals. What’s your opinion?