provides excellent camouflage for 

 stalking prey also keeps the cat well 

 hidden from human eyes. Bobcats 

 blend in well with the grasses, forest 

 underbrush and other areas of dense 

 vegetation they prowl. 



That fur, however, once made the 

 little predator more attractive as prey 

 for humans. In 1973, the Convention 

 on International Trade in Endangered 

 Species (CITES) banned the trade of 

 spotted cat furs — cheetah, leopard and 

 ocelot — and the fur industry sought 

 look-alike species to fill the void in the 

 market. It found the river otter and the 

 bobcat. 



According to Perry W. Sumner, 

 furbearer project leader for the N.C. 



Wildlife Resources Commission, 

 industry interest in bobcat fur has 

 waned because readily available species 

 with more supple skins, such as nutria 

 and beaver, can be dyed to resemble 

 any spotted cat. 



Sumner also points out that fewer 

 trappers and hunters find the bobcat a 

 lucrative or attractive quarry, though a 

 handful of people do still hunt the cats 

 for pelts or trophies. (Bobcat meat is 

 edible but of poor quality, so the cats 

 are not in danger of being hunted for 

 food.) 



Though the fur trade has never 

 really threatened the population, the fall 

 from hunting favor can be only good 

 news for the cat's numbers. More 



important, Sumner says, is what 

 humans are doing to the land. In what 

 seems a paradox, bobcats have moved 

 into areas most predatory animals 

 normally flee. 



The reason? Forests have been cut 

 for timber or development. 



"That creates perfect bobcat 

 habitat. It gives them a flush of small 

 animals to feed on," Sumner says. 



When land is cleared, brush and 

 young trees take over, creating browse 

 for small animals. Land cleared for 

 farming is attractive for bobcats as well 

 because rodents and rabbits seek out 

 the grain and other crops and concen- 

 trate near the farms. 



Sumner points out a second reason 



18 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1996 



