The Bobcat
BOBCATS IN CONNECTICUT
On October 3, 2019, the Berlin Land Trust, Inc. sponsored a lecture on bobcats presented by Paul Colbern, Certified Master Wildlife Conservationist.
An apex predator is how Paul described the bobcat. They join the great horned owl at the top of the food chain in our forests.
Bobcats prey manly on squirrels and rabbits, but in the winter a bobcat can bring down as large an animal as a deer. Noteworthy to all of us, small dogs and cats can be targeted by bobcats as well.
It’s stocky muscular frame, and sharp claws are augmented by a jaw and sharp teeth adapted for killing its prey. Cleverly camouflaged, lean and muscular, the bobcat stalks its prey but will not chase it any distance. Its jaw and sharp teeth – no flattened molars – are ideal for biting and shearing its prey.
As state forest coverage grew from about twenty (20%) percent in 1850 to its current sixty (60%) percent, the bobcat which prefers forests and was once close to extinction in Connecticut, has grown in its numbers. Now protected under state laws from hunting and trapping since 1972, the population of bobcat has increased to about one thousand (1,000) in Connecticut.
Very little interaction between humans and bobcats is documented. Only about four rabid bobcats have been identified in the last forty years. However, it is best that we avoid and report any bobcat which approaches us or appears hostile [See link below]. Naturally our smaller animals should be kept indoors or on a leash in wooded areas. Bobcats have been sighted in Berlin in recent years.
If you see a bobcat in your neighborhood, please report your sighting by clicking on the button below.
