Winter Food Habits of Bobcats in North Carolina 



Anne M. King 

 Department of Zoology, 



Richard A. Lancia 

 Department of Forestry, 



AND 



S. Douglas Miller, iDavid K. Woodward and Jay D. Hair ' 



Department of Zoology 

 North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27650 



ABSTRACT.— Carcasses of 505 bobcats, Felis rufus (229 9, 276 5), 

 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 lotor, 

 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 



' 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. 



BrimleyanaNo.9:lll-122. June 1983. Ill 



