Housecat or Bobcat?

Some days you just want to get up on a tree stump and holler,please forgive my colloquial term for "Shout" or "Exclaim" with exuberance.The latter do NOT fit my train of thought.

On my trail camera on October 5th, this year I caught the image of what I believe to be the rear half of a feline creature of sorts, during the daylight hours no less. What is vexing me,vexing a term used by a past blog posteress Dana at The Wildwoods Woman when she got disturbed, is that the picture was a one time event and not extremely clear. Low camera batteries were leading to some eradic captures about that time.

My picture has been shown  to a trained Wildlife Biologist and I have shared it with a couple other people. The opinion as to specific feline varies. Others won't go as far as to say it could be a Bobcat, but I will. That possibility exists because one was caught on a trail camera north of our place less than a month ago.

The reason given by most is they feel it could be a feral cat...However, I haven't seen a spot pattern like that on a domestic/feral cat. Another reason they feel it can't be a Bobcat is because of the tail. They can't see a bob tail and it appears more bushy than that of a Bobcat .

My reason for seeing it as a larger animal than a housecat  is the strong design of the rear leg caught in that one camera view.

My Mystery Feline?

One person even told me they thought it looked like a picture of our Miss Kitty...I just smiled and said"you think so eah?", as I shook my head.

Have you caught anything like it on your trail cameras? Does it resemble a domestic/feral cat from your point of view?

Let me hear what you think on the matter.

Iowa Bobcat Season Closed

The conclusion of the first Bobcat season in Iowa came on Monday, November 19th. Reaching the quota number of 150 ended anymore hunting and trapping of the animal for this year. Initially the season was set to run from November 3rd, 2007 - January 30th, 2008. It appears that the population of the elusive cat is more prevalent than most people are aware of. As the hunt was limited to the southern tier of counties this year it might indicate how large of a group that is already active there. Trappers, hunters, and drivers, still need to report any accidental killings, traffic collisions, or sightings to the Iowa DNR in order to keep current on movements anywhere within the state.

Bobcat Hunting in Iowa

Iowa is having it's first Bobcat hunting season which runs from November 3, 2007 thru January 31, 2008. The Iowa DNR has estimated numbers of the elusive animal at 3,000 - 4,000, possibly higher . Reports say the heaviest concentrations exist over 2/3rds of the state, mainly in the southern tiers of counties and in the southwest area of the state know as the Loess Hills. However, sightings have been recorded in all 99 counties at this time. Bobcat population expansion in Iowa has been directly associated to the Missouri group moving northward by wildlife officials. Limit for this year has been set at 150 . They can be taken by either by trapping or firearm. A specific fur harvester's license is required whether or not you already hold a regular small game license. Each license entitles the holder to take one animal. As of November 9th, the state quota was already well on it's way to being filled for this season, 56 have been taken. Updates to numbers are posted at the IowaDNR website, or by calling the main office. Officials state that only 2 out of the 52 bobcats that have been radio collared for tracking were among the animals being reported as killed so far. None of the 12 tagged individuals had showed an appearance as of this writing. Public assistance has been requested in southern Iowa by Iowa State University to get an idea of how visible the Bobcats have become. The results of this year's hunt will give DNR officials information about how to proceed for future management decisions.