Cool Trail Cam Pic

One of the best things about running trail cams, for me, is the things they capture beyond deer. I just love the nature photography angle, there are so many cool things to see that without trail cams, I’d seldom, if ever, see.

This is the best picture of a bobcat I’ve gotten as far as it being a clear picture, broad daylight, etc. How’d you like to climb up in a tree stand and find this Big Boy napping up there?

In over 35 years of hunting in bobcat territory, I’ve seen exactly 2 of them in person. With trail cams, I get pics every year, but this one is especially good.

Grouse

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That is awesome.

Great pic!! That is a biggun

That is a pretty cool pic! It definitely has some size to it! Very cool.

Is that a hose cat?

Yes, Bob is a big boy. He’s just such a fine looking animal.

There is a female in this same area, I didn’t have a cam at this spot all winter, but I got a great pic of the female with kittens last fall from this very cam location.

Grouse

Very cool! Call me crazy, but I’d love to pet a large cat someday. Preferably a lynx. And probably at the Zoo would be the best bet that I still have my hand afterwards. I love cats.

That cat looks healthy. See what happens when you dont shoot the Grouse?!

suzuki wrote:

That cat looks healthy. See what happens when you dont shoot the Grouse?!

Well, we may have a leading suspect when it comes to the reason why the wild turkeys have a major aversion to my farm these days.

I take most of my trail cams in for the winter, so it will be interesting now that the whole fleet is out in the field again. I suspect Bob might be just one of several bobcats prowling the farm. I’ll bet there’s a lot of nervous rabbits in that creek bottom.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
That cat looks healthy. See what happens when you dont shoot the Grouse?!

Well, we may have a leading suspect when it comes to the reason why the wild turkeys have a major aversion to my farm these days.

I take most of my trail cams in for the winter, so it will be interesting now that the whole fleet is out in the field again. I suspect Bob might be just one of several bobcats prowling the farm. I’ll bet there’s a lot of nervous rabbits in that creek bottom.

Grouse

If I’m correct all the log piles that were created for your food plots may have attracted an unwanted visitor to the “Rodent Estates”.

tegg wrote:

If I’m correct all the log piles that were created for your food plots may have attracted an unwanted visitor to the “Rodent Estates”.

I’m probably going to have to start live trapping rabbits from my backyard in town and taking them up to replenish the population at the farm. My dad would blow a gasket. What’s in the box? Well, those bobcats looked hungry…

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

I’m probably going to have to start live trapping rabbits from my backyard in town and taking them up to replenish the population at the farm. My dad would blow a gasket. What’s in the box? Well, those bobcats looked hungry…

Grouse

Come over anytime and trap rabbits at my place. I seem to have an unlimited supply judging from my young trees this spring

By the way, I found a few rocks in my plots this year. You can have those too…

Thats very neat! We started to get a few pics of them a couple years ago in buffalo county. I have never seen one in person yet.

That’s one healthy looking cat! Cool pic! We got a pair of gray foxes and everyone is told they are not fair game at all. Have had two occasions where a moose and calf have come through in the winter when I pulled tcams. Now mine suffer through the winter on the odd chance they come through again.

Dont waste your time trapping them at Ryans. He shot them all with his fancy pellet gun!

Would anyone really welcome them? I assume you all know they are as bad on whitetail as wolves and bear. Good luck and lets keep another predator around. Ya they wont eat any birds either??

riverruns wrote:

Would anyone really welcome them? I assume you all know they are as bad on whitetail as wolves and bear. Good luck and lets keep another predator around. Ya they wont eat any birds either??

Not even close. Not sure where you heard they were just as hard on deer as wolves but that’s complete bs.

Even the big bobcat in the picture is probably 40 to 50 pounds. While they could take a fawn, they in no way can they take adult deer like a wolf can.

Bobcats eat mainly birds and rodents. This cat has been on my property for years and all deer are present and accounted for. Last year I had 6 fawns and all 6 are still there after winter.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>riverruns wrote:</div>
Would anyone really welcome them? I assume you all know they are as bad on whitetail as wolves and bear. Good luck and lets keep another predator around. Ya they wont eat any birds either??

Not even close. Not sure where you heard they were just as hard on deer as wolves but that’s complete bs.

Even the big bobcat in the picture is probably 40 to 50 pounds. While they could take a fawn, they in no way can they take adult deer like a wolf can.

Bobcats eat mainly birds and rodents. This cat has been on my property for years and all deer are present and accounted for. Last year I had 6 fawns and all 6 are still there after winter.

Grouse

I’ll call BS. Show me the stats they don’t harm or reduce whitetail and I’ll show you they do. It’s fawns where they they will do the damage. Did you tag your 6 fawn and keep all other fawn off your property? By the way. They can take down an adult whitetail. Coyote can also. Shawn

We’ve got wolves, bears, bobcats, fishers, martens, coons, skunks, mink, weasels, eagles, owls, hawks, etc at our hunting camp. Still have lots of grouse and deer. Everything adapts and ebb and flows. Bobcats might have some effect on deer, but it’s negligible considering what else deer have faced and will face. Weather, be it a cold, wet spring fawning season and the wsi has way more effect. It seems like a true indicator to predator/prey relationships is beaver and snow shoe hare populations. When those plummet, wolf and bobcat numbers follow suit.

I think Bobcats do more damage to deer than people give them credit for, especially fawns. That being said, I think yotes do more than bobcats, maybe just because there are more of them.

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basseyes wrote:

We’ve got wolves, bears, bobcats, fishers, martens, coons, skunks, mink, weasels, eagles, owls, hawks, etc at our hunting camp. Still have lots of grouse and deer. Everything adapts and ebb and flows. Bobcats might have some effect on deer, but it’s negligible considering what else deer have faced and will face. Weather, be it a cold, wet spring fawning season and the wsi has way more effect. It seems like a true indicator to predator/prey relationships is beaver and snow shoe hare populations. When those plummet, wolf and bobcat numbers follow suit.

I’d agree with this. I hunt in Zone 1 and the single biggest impact I’ve seen on deer populations is the severity of winter.

tegg wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>basseyes wrote:</div>
We’ve got wolves, bears, bobcats, fishers, martens, coons, skunks, mink, weasels, eagles, owls, hawks, etc at our hunting camp. Still have lots of grouse and deer. Everything adapts and ebb and flows. Bobcats might have some effect on deer, but it’s negligible considering what else deer have faced and will face. Weather, be it a cold, wet spring fawning season and the wsi has way more effect. It seems like a true indicator to predator/prey relationships is beaver and snow shoe hare populations. When those plummet, wolf and bobcat numbers follow suit.

I’d agree with this. I hunt in Zone 1 and the single biggest impact I’ve seen on deer populations is the severity of winter.

I agree with what you say about Zone 1. Too many guys see a wolf track (or actually see a wolf) and the world is coming to an end. Sure they are around but they have been for a while and we always seem to get deer…

riverruns wrote:

I’ll call BS. Show me the stats they don’t harm or reduce whitetail and I’ll show you they do. It’s fawns where they they will do the damage. Did you tag your 6 fawn and keep all other fawn off your property? By the way. They can take down an adult whitetail. Coyote can also. Shawn

riverruns wrote:

Show me the stats they don’t harm or reduce whitetail and I’ll show you they do.

I didn’t say they don’t “harm or reduce” and I’ve got plenty of sources for what they ARE known to do. As I said, like a lot of predators, bobcats can take fawns. Almost any predator including some birds of prey can take a fawn.

But you first. I’m dying to see your source for your assertion that (and I quote) bobcats “…are as bad on whitetail as wolves and bear.”

Really having trouble envisioning the solitary bobcat mowing down adult deer the way wolves can, but I’m awaiting your sources for this revelation.

Grouse

riverruns wrote:

Would anyone really welcome them? I assume you all know they are as bad on whitetail as wolves and bear. Good luck and lets keep another predator around. Ya they wont eat any birds either??

Yes, by all means. Death to all animals that eat deer! Why can’t an animal just be cool to see, cool to have on camera and just another part of nature. Must we kill them all because they eat your precious deer? Geez…

Have heard studies of bobcat effects on fawns in the south, yet have not heard or seen much in the northern latitudes.

Obviously, predators eat prey and always have. The one thing about prey populations is they tend to be higher and rebound faster than predators. From a hunting perspective the single best thing you can do is promote habitat. The prey will do just fine.

roosterrouster wrote:

Yes, by all means. Death to all animals that eat deer! Why can’t an animal just be cool to see, cool to have on camera and just another part of nature. Must we kill them all because they eat your precious deer? Geez…

x2!!!

I agree, Ralph. I’m not in the kill-em-all camp when it comes to predators and I think too much idle chatter about killing predators produces bad PR that harms the image of hunters.

I enjoy seeing wildlife and I enjoy learning about both game and non-game species alike. For me, running trail cams is a sport onto itself and I enjoy every picture download from every cam.

I’m not against doing some predator control when it’s allowed and I feel it’s warranted. For example, when I was regularly seeing 6-8 bears on my property, I started to worry about the impact of that many bears.

But with that said, I don’t like these “kill ’em all” attitudes out there and I think it’s bad for the image of hunting. I know guys are frustrated with the venue shopping animal rights activists that found a judge and got wolves re-listed, but this will work itself to the right result soon.

And just to clarify my position on wolves, I’m not suggesting they be “wiped out”, I have consistently asked only for the states to be given the same right to manage wolves as they have to manage all other species.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>riverruns wrote:</div>
I’ll call BS. Show me the stats they don’t harm or reduce whitetail and I’ll show you they do. It’s fawns where they they will do the damage. Did you tag your 6 fawn and keep all other fawn off your property? By the way. They can take down an adult whitetail. Coyote can also. Shawn

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>riverruns wrote:</div>
Show me the stats they don’t harm or reduce whitetail and I’ll show you they do.

I didn’t say they don’t “harm or reduce” and I’ve got plenty of sources for what they ARE known to do. As I said, like a lot of predators, bobcats can take fawns. Almost any predator including some birds of prey can take a fawn.

But you first. I’m dying to see your source for your assertion that (and I quote) bobcats “…are as bad on whitetail as wolves and bear.”

Really having trouble envisioning the solitary bobcat mowing down adult deer the way wolves can, but I’m awaiting your sources for this revelation.

Grouse

Seems to me you should be smart enough to do your own research. Michigan research shows they are 2nd to coyote.

Kinda cool when you get called out you want someone else to prove themselves first. Anyone here can do a goggle.

Ya there will always be a left vs right. Have your beliefs, I’ll have mine.

riverruns wrote:

Seems to me you should be smart enough to do your own research. Michigan research shows they are 2nd to coyote.

If you had to guess which predator would be the top whitetail consumer in Michigan, you’d probably guess wolves — and to be fair, that’s not a bad guess. However, biologists say that’s not the case.

A study by Wildlife Ecology and Management at Mississippi State University, in association with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, found that coyotes are the top whitetail fawn predators in the western Upper Peninsula, followed by bobcats in second. Wolves came in fourth behind a three-way tie of hunters, unknown predators and undetermined causes.

Student researchers fitted 142 whitetail fawns with GPS collars, which transmitted their locations every 15 minutes. According to the study, 80 of the fawns died during the three-year first phase of the study, with 73 percent of the deaths being attributed to predators.

While researchers discovered two wolf packs in the area, they also discovered a pit where farmers had been dumping dead cattle — a free, easy meal for the wolves.

Read more: http://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/land-management/no-1-deer-predator-in-michigan-is-a-surprise/#ixzz4fJiVMcE5

What a great study