- Title
- Brimleyana [1983 : June, no.9]
-
-
- Date
- June 1983
-
-
- Place
- ["North Carolina, United States"]
-
Brimleyana [1983 : June, no.9]
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Winter Food Habits of Bobcats in North Carolina
Anne M. King
Department of Zoology,
Richard A. Lancia
Department of Forestry,
and
S. Douglas Miller, 'David K. Woodward and Jay D. Hair 1
Department of Zoology
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27650
ABSTRACT. — Carcasses of 505 bobcats, Felis rufus (229 $, 276 $),
were collected from October through March in 1978-79 and 1979-80.
Stomach contents were analyzed and the results summarized by physi¬
ographic regions, sex, and age. The top eight prey groups, ranked by
frequency of occurrence, were rabbits, Sylvilagus spp.; birds; cotton
rats, Sigmodon hispidus; white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus;
rodents; gray squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis ; raccoons, Procyon lot or,
and opossums, Didelphis virginianus. Ranked by frequency of occur¬
rence, rabbits were first in the Coastal Plain and cotton rats first in the
Piedmont Plateau. Adult male bobcats consumed larger prey than did
adult females or kittens. Kittens tended to exploit smaller and a wider
variety of prey items than did adults.
INTRODUCTION
Because of restrictions placed on harvesting many species of spot¬
ted cats, the value of bobcat, Felis rufus , pelts increased greatly on the
international fur market. In 1977 concern about the national status of
bobcats prompted the Council on International Trade of Endangered
Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) to list them as a species that could
become threatened with extinction unless trade was subject to regula¬
tion. As part of a program to learn more about the status and ecology
of bobcat populations in North Carolina, we initiated a study of bobcat
food habits based on analyses of trapper-harvested carcasses. Other
aspects of our research program are reported elsewhere (Lancia et al., in
press).
Previous food habits studies in the southeastern United States
reported rabbits, Sylvilagus spp., as the major food item (Progulske
1952; Davis 1955; Fritts 1973; Buttrey 1974; Fox and Fox, in press). In
addition, cotton rats, Sigmodon hispidus; white-tailed deer, Odocoileus
1 Present address: National Wildlife Federation, 1412 Sixteenth Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20036
Paper number 7035 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agricultural
Research Service, North Carolina.
Brimleyana No.9:lII-122. June 1983.
Ill
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