Catnip oil as a lure 5 Care in details 5     Rust on traps 6     Frozen ground 6     Deodorizing traps 6     Paper trap pads 6 Resetting traps 6

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TRAPPING has been found to be one of the most effective methods of bobcat control. On its wild ranges the bobcat feeds to a large extent upon rabbits and other injurious rodents, but it preys also upon such valuable forms of wild life as antelope, deer, and other game animals, especially the fawns, and on wild turkeys, quail, and other ground-nesting birds. With human occupation of its former haunts, it finds in the young of domestic livestock very satisfactory substitutes for its ordinary fare in the wild. When its food is less easily obtained in nature than among the flocks and herds of the range country, it may become exceedingly destructive to domestic livestock, especially to sheep during the lambing season, to pigs, goats, and calves, and to poultry. The depredations of bobcats in parts of Arkansas in recent years have made hog raising on an extensive scale impracticable in such localities. Losses caused by this predatory animal among sheep are particularly severe when lambing is conducted on the open range and the lambing grounds are in close proximity to the broken, rough, rocky canyons that favor the presence of the bobcat. Sheepmen often choose such rugged country for lambing grounds because of the protection it affords against storms.

Nature of Depredations

On gaining entry into a flock of sheep at lambing time, commonly under cover of darkness, the bobcat carries on its depredations in such manner as to cause little commotion there. The lamb is usually killed by a characteristic bite on the back of the neck or head, and then it is pulled down to be eaten. If its lust for killing is not satisfied, the bobcat may kill other lambs by the same method, continuing its work quietly until a large number have been destroyed. A single bobcat has been known to kill 38 lambs in this manner in one night.

Bobcats are easily caught in traps of the common double-spring steel type, in sizes 2 and 3. Such traps have been used by many generations of trappers, and although deemed inhumane by some persons, no better or more practical device has yet been invented to take their place. The brief description here presented of trapping methods to be used in bobcat control is based on field