nice pic of bobcat
Pennsylvania
That's a great pic! Nice job!
Very nice! I've never seen one in the wild.
Thanks for sharing, Pat! They are cool to see! Only seen 2 in the wild. Talk about stealthy critters..............the one I watched walk by my deerstand in the summer while scouting. Came within 25y and was absolutely silent. You could not hear it step like deer or bear. If I had not seen the movement, it would have gotten by me easy(undetected).
You don't want that in your deer/turkey hunting spot.I'll gladly take care of him for u in trapping season Seriously though they are real hard on turkeys.And as bad as yotes on the deer fawns.Very neat animal to see but when u start seeing them more,its time to manage them.
I DO want them in my hunting area... coyotes, owls, hawks, fox, bears and other natural predators too. I treasure sightings of natural predators. They don't deserve to die because they kill ("our" 'game') to live. They are our brothers. In fact, their regular presence reveals balance, adequate prey density, and a natural order that spawns from a healthy environment. When I invariably run into 'sportsmen' who want them all dead, it only reveals their ignorance and conceit.
Thanks for sharing that picture, Gonzo.
Awesome pic. I have only ever seen one in the wild. I was on my way to Denton Hill one year and right down the road it crossed in front of my truck.
Wow!......What a beautiful animal. Give the Bobcat credit, he does what he's designed to do, and does it well. I'd love to see one in the wild. They're supposed to kill turkeys, fawns, rodents and smaller game in general. Why should we eliminate predators? Do we want to own the corner on the market?
Great picture, man, now that's a find.
Jeff and Roger- I think you missed Scott's humor in his post! See where he says "Seriously though"???!!! ;-)
Actually, did you read the entire post, Perry?
Perry, I read it. I wasn't directing my post all at him necessarily, but rather offering a differing opinion/value of predators than what I've come to find is shared by many sportsmen. Generally, if it too can kill and eat a(their) game animal, they want them dead. In fact, there is often an anger and hatred present toward natural predators and scavengers that to me seems quite unwarranted and selfish... especially considering that they(people) do this for sport and not sustenance. Some of these 'sportsmen' don't even eat what they kill or use any parts of them. Weird, aye?
OK Jeff- it seemed as though you were lumping him in with the KILL THEM ALL crowd.
Roger- yes I did. That's why I can see the humor. Apparently you did not.
KILL THEM ALL. LOL
I just had to........
Balance in everything.
Great photo - thanks for posting it Gonzo.
IMO, seeing something like a bobcat, coyote, fisher, etc. would make my hunt. I wouldn't care if I saw anything else that day.
Two of my most memorable days afield involved predators. I was watching a chipmunk foraging around an old field stone fence, when suddenly a weasel streaked in and nabbed it. If I hadn't been watching that chipmunk that closely, I'd have never seen what happened it occurred so quickly.
The second incident was a fisher chasing and catching a gray squirrel. The hapless squirrel tried to escape up a tree, but there was no other tree for it to jump to so it was trapped with only one way out - back down the tree. That fisher chased the squirrel around and around the tree up and down until I think the gray just finally gave up.
In both cases, I sat in my stand the rest of the day without seeing anything, but I didn't care. I considered myself very very lucky to see something that isn't seen very often.
That would have been awesome, Dave. I'm envious of you for being priviledged to witness that.
I had a Least Weasel come into my shop twice to stand/sit on his hind quarters and watch me while I whittled on an osage bow one evening. Cute little bugger... and fast.
Another time while stillhunting in fresh snow one morning, I came upon a weasel jumping, squeeking, flipping into the air. It took me a minute or so to realize there were two weasels fighting and one was white, which made it almost impossible to see against the snowy background.
Jeff,
Two weasels fighting - I can't imagine the ferocity of that battle. I think weasels are one of the most intriguing predators out there.
Though not hunting related,(I wasn't hunting that is)late this past winter I went out to get the newspaper on an early Sunday morning and Sophie, our West Highland White terrier, was tagging along as she always does.
Just as I reached the paper box, a rabbit started squealing like crazy at the edge of the woods across the street. I could see that it was thrashing around in the tall weeds and grass and was struggling with something black - what I at first thought was a feral or possibly a neighborhood cat.
Well, this was right up Sophie's alley and she immediately decided she was going to join the fray. I was able to call her back before she joined the mix, and in closing the distance I saw that what had latched onto the rabbit's hind leg was not a cat, but a mink. That mink was trying for all its worth to drag that rabbit back into the woods, but the rabbit was heavy enough and strong enough with three legs to kind of hold its own.
I think the mink tried to get a better grip and in doing so, the rabbit was able to break free and run a little ways toward us before veering off again into the woods. The mink watched the rabbit make its little semicircle and it took off following in the rabbit's path.
I figured the mink would just head off down the hill to the stream that runs behind our property, but by the time I got the newspaper, I heard the rabbit start its squealing again, but this time the squealing ended very abruptly. I'm guessing the mink got a better hold the second time around.
Yep, mink are firely little predators too. That was a cool story. I saw one in Ohio pretty far from any stream. He was sneaking in and around some oak and osage treetops left behind after some logging a couple years prior. I watched him for a while but didn't see him catch anything though.
I don't want to kill the guys bobcat I was joking.I do trap/manage my areas for predators.Just like my deer hunting,I don't try to eliminate just manage.I enjoy going after predators so it would be as dumb for me to try to eliminate them as it would the deer or anything else for that matter.Bobcats are incredible predators and their successat hunting would amaze you.II've watched a few hunt from my deer stand and they were always able to catch their meal I did say when u see MORE,its time to MANAGE them.Somehow u guys read I want to kill them all out of that,lol.I say if u like them that much burn your doe tags so u can leave them dinner.See its easy to change the meaning of what people r saying and some on here are masters at it
Mixed', I don't know if you are aware of it or not but they are already "managed".
mixed bag,
You state that you manage "your areas" for predators and that you don't try to eliminate, just manage.
I'd be interested in hearing how you derive the information necessary to establish an effective management plan. I'd just like to point out that unless "your area" is in excess of 10 square miles or so, there's no way you're going to be able to "manage" both what type and how many predators are there.
I believe mother nature is a far better "manager of wildlife" than we can ever be. Stop and think about it...as prey species (small mammals, rodents, fawns, etc.) go up, so will the predators numbers. As a result, predator sightings increase. Using your logic, that calls for "managing" the predators. (another way of saying kill more predators) But in actuality, you're doing just the opposite of what mother nature is providing for. More prey, more predators...more predators cause prey numbers go down. Prey numbers go down, predator litters decrease and/or an increase in predator mortality due to maladies such as mange, rabies, etc.
As good stewards of the land, we have to quit thinking that we have the final say in the grand order of things. Mother nature did very well way before we were around, and she continues to do so, despite all of the things we continue to do that are contrary to the big picture.
BTW, they say a picture's worth a thousand words. By my reckoning, we're about half way there. :^)
Hey roger,who is managing them??And my trapline is about 30 mile circle Why do we bowhunt if mother nature is so good at management?The way mother nature manages is often much crueler then any trap or arrow.Dave Im well aware that healthy yotes produce more in litters.What do thy eat when they exhaust the available prey.Ifind it amusing when you guys talk about killing x amount of does but think thinning predators is a problem.So answer why do we hunt at all if mother nature will handle it?And, do you have any idea how many predators are taken by trappers/hunter each year.Its no different at all then managing your deer herd.Maybe you should look into the effect of yotes and cats to the deer populations by studies that have been done.When I trap,if take 2-3 yotes off a piece of ground I pull out.I set about 50 locations.Never do I ever want to trap the last one out just like with deer.More will eventually move in but that could take years or overnight.Sine I've been trapping some of my deer spots hard,the deer herd has increased.That also has some to do with hunters giing up the sport that use to hunt it I live in a no hunt development with an overpopulated deer herd.Last year I counted 12 fawns and within 3 weeks there were 2 left.I'd say 90% of the hunting clubs down south use a trapper to manage the predatos and pay to have it done.I don't know one animal that management isn't a useful tool for,and I'm not talking mother nature Say you have a bumper crop of feed for the deer,and all the does have twin or triplets.Then the next summer theres a drought.What happens to all those fawns come winter,and adults for that matter.Alot wll die of starvation.So we hunt them to keep numbers at a certain level.No different if we are talking predators and a bumper crop of bunnies feel lik I'm talking with a bunch of treehugging antis on a bow site;crazy.I'm done argue your idiotic points on your own
Mixed', please don't take this as being critical, but your last post is very difficult to comprehend. Anyway, the PGC manages predator and "game" species alike and I assume you already know that, but I can't make out where your going with the rest of all of the post. As a suggestion, paragraphs serve a wonderful purpose for all of us idiots. ;^)
I concur with Dave about 'natural management'.
Think about this... we (hunters, game and fish depts, govts, etc) attempt to manage through hunting, fishing, and trapping a select very, VERY few species of all those walking, crawling, swimming, slithering, sprouting, and flying around this planet. Look objectively at what and how we manage, and selfish ideals and skewed 'unnatural' values reveal themselves.The others, BILLIONS of others, take care of themselves without our 'help'. That's nature doing what's natural... without us.... often in SPITE of us.
"Why do we hunt at all if nature will handle it?"
That's a really good question, with many correct answers. Personally, I don't hunt or fish because I feel a duty of dominion or ability to manage the quantity or quality of a couple of species of wildlife. I hunt because I'm a predator/hunter/gatherer... pure and simple. I fit. Not much unlike that bobcat. Others have their own reasons.
I think man, modern man, thinks too much. It's his blessing and curse... to the point of some delusion. He thinks he can and needs to fix, maintain, micromanage everything when the truth is, now, all of nature would be better off if we weren't even here.
Seems to me most any 'help' or 'management' we direct toward nature is rooted in selfishness and/or damage control.
