Bobcat killed
- Thread starter 46er
- Start date
Wow, I hike a bit up there and that's a pretty good-sized cat. Gives one pause, although I know I am way outside of its prey criteria... it's still a big cat 
.
.
Just think what a 10 lb. house cat can do when it is really pissed. I once had a cat bite through the meat between my thumb and fore finger. It sunk it's teeth in and held onto my arm and hand with its front paws while raking the hell out of my forearm with it's rear claws. Some of the scratches from the rear claws were close to needing stitches.When I finally shook it loose it landed about 15 feet away (on it's feet of course) and hissed like it was going to come back for more. I never did like cats much, and they don't seem to like me.
I have the same opinion of them. Unfortunatley, we have one in the house. I don't like it and it doesn't like me. When it tries to be friendly, the claws still stick you good and the teeth are unbelievably sharp. I disliked them ever since I was clawed across the knees as a kid. I don't know what hurt most, the raking or the iodine my Mom poured over it. Still, those Bobcats are beautiful animals. I saw one once in the Adirondacks and once a Lynx in Yellowstone. Very secretive.
My question is are these guys in South Jersey. I'm certain I saw one in cumberland 4-5 years ago.....anyone ever hear of them being seen recently?
I wouldn't doubt it. F&W wanted to do some telmetry work in the south, don;t know if they ever did. Here is an article in the F&W Hunting Digest about them:
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2007/dighnt72-83.pdf
From F&W in 1997;
"Most sightings occur in Warren, Sussex, Passaic and Morris counties, however, bobcats have been reported recently in Bergen, Hunterdon, Ocean, Cape May and Cumberland counties. Although it is still too early to tell whether the sighting increase is due to more and more people encroaching upon areas where bobcats live, it is possible that the increase may be an indication that the once nearly extinct population is growing.
The division had planned to expand the bobcat radio telemetry project to the Pinelands and the Delaware Bay region where there has been recent evidence of bobcat presence. However, concern over declining revenue from the program’s main funding source, the Wildlife Tax Check-off on the New Jersey state tax form, may hinder the expansion or even jeopardize this and other Endangered and Nongame Species Program projects. The number of taxpayers that fund work like the bobcat project declined from a high of 111,000 in 1983 to an all-time low of 44,000 in 1995. Wildlife officials are concerned that contributions could decline even further since the Wildlife Check-off is competing with two additional check-offs on the 1996 New Jersey tax form."
I have a friend that saw one a few years ago on his property in Port Norris NJ ( cumberland county)
I posted in another thread that I spotted one on Carranza Road a few years back. It ran right across the road in front of me. Not as big as this one though.