CSG Species Accounts: Bobcat (Lynx rufus)

Principal Threats
In the last 20 years, the bobcat has been the most heavily harvested and traded of the cat species. World demand for bobcat fur rose gradually in the late 1960s and early 1970s and jumped in the mid-1970s after CITES entered into force, when the pelts of cats listed on Appendix I became legally unobtainable for the commercial fur trade (see Part II Chapter 4). Prices offered trappers for bobcat pelts increased sharply from a pre-1970 high of $20 to between $200-300 and as high as $600 in 1979 (Nilsson et al. 1980, Johnson 1990). The number of bobcats killed annually in the US consequently climbed to over 90,000 in the 1980s (Govt. of US 1983a); in the 1950s and 1960s about 10,000 bobcats were taken annually in the US, increasing to about 44,000 in the 1970s (Johnson 1990). From 1976-1983, Canada reported an average annual harvest of 3,293 bobcats (Govt. of Canada 1983, Shieff and Baker 1987). Although Mexico permits hunting, there is essentially no documented international trade in bobcats from that country (Govt. of US 1992, WCMC unpubl. data).
The financial importance of the trade to the North American range states led to a dramatic rise in research, particularly in the US, with a ten-fold increase from the 1960s to the 1970s in studies on population structure, status and distribution (Anderson 1987). Despite the volume of research, there is still concern over whether commercial trapping as practiced in North America is sustainable (see Part II Chapter 4).
At present, trade in bobcat pelts is declining. Beginning in 1988, both harvest and export of bobcat pelts dropped due to both market shrinkage and market saturation overseas. In addition, the European Community has announced that, after 1995, all imports of furs from countries allowing the use of leghold traps will be prohibited. Europe is the primary market for bobcat pelts, importing 92% of North America’s total overseas exports in 1990 (WCMC unpubl. data). Leghold traps are the main commercial hunting technique used to catch bobcats in North America (Baker and Dwyer 1987, IFTF 1989).
Bobcats are generally not persecuted as pest species in North America. They may occasionally raid poultry, but bobcat depredations have always been uncommon, although bounties were offered by state governments since the 1700s in the US and throughout much of this century (Rolley 1987). In central Mexico, however, the bobcat is reputed to be a major predator of sheep (Govt. of US 1983a), and persecution by ranchers is more frequent (Woloszyn and Woloszyn 1982, González and Leal 1984). The dry scrub and oak and pine forest habitats used by bobcats in Mexico have suffered the highest rates of transformation and degradation relative to other habitat types (Flores-Villela and Fernádez 1989).