Bobcat

Sitting in the middle of the food web, bobcats (Lynx rufus) are a valuable indicator of ecosystem health because they reflect the balance of prey and predators as well as the overall stability of the natural systems where they live. Bobcats thrive in semi-open habitats with a mix of hunting grounds, cover for resting and travel, and secure den sites. While they benefit from landscapes shaped by fire, too much burning or fragmentation of their large territories threatens their survival. In Orange County, the main challenges facing bobcats include habitat loss, declining prey, road strikes, disease, and a loss of connected habitats to move among.

To monitor bobcat health, researchers use data from camera traps to help track population trends year to year, as well as trapping and collaring, which offer deeper insights into genetics, disease, and movement but are resource-intensive. Together, these approaches create a more complete picture of population health, though each has limitations.

Looking at occupancy and relative abundance indices for each year from 2007 to 2021, this assessment found that the condition in the Coastal Study Area was better than that in the Central one, with a better trend as well. Genetic markers of relatedness (inbreeding), and disease prevalence were good when they were last sampled around 2005; however as that was two decades ago, updated sampling is desperately needed to more confidently determine a condition or trends for these metrics.

Improved bobcat monitoring in the EHA Study Area would help fill in this current lack of long-term data. Scat surveys along roads and trails are less labor intensive and provide more direct data for genetic analysis and population estimates than camera traps do. These surveys should still be supplemented by data from physically trapping animals to collect tissue or blood samples for genetic work and disease prevalence, as well as collaring to update habitat use and 15-year-old population estimates.