Bobcats in the Backyard

AzDiamondHeat

AzDiamondHeat

New member
So I have been trying(somewhat) all winter for a bobcat to no avail. Here in Az we cannot shoot them from end of March through July.

And....

Wouldn't you know it...one has moved into the backyard of one of my houses.

I HATE ethical dilemmas....lol

Not really a dilemma. It is a female with kittens. Unfortunately I have to call game and fish.
 
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Originally Posted By: AzDiamondHeatSo I have been trying(somewhat) all winter for a bobcat to no avail. Here in Az we cannot shoot them from end of March through July.

And....

Wouldn't you know it...one has moved into the backyard of one of my houses.

I HATE ethical dilemmas....lol

Not really a dilemma. It is a female with kittens. Unfortunately I have to call game and fish.



i here ya! had one run thru camp while turkey huntin this month....stopped at 60yrds and had a 2min. stare off w/ me and my dog, hand on my 1911 , sure wanted to draw down on him, "ethical dilemma" lol!
 
AZDiamondHeat,

Expect the nuisance bobcat problem at your house to resolve itself within the next 3-4 weeks and here is why. Mama will be wanting to leave the den very badly when the bobcat kittens are able to follow her. Mama and her kittens will not come back to the den when they leave the den for the first time. The kittens will then follow mama as she shows them around her home range. If you call AZ Game and Fish, they will tell you the same thing or have you contact a nuisance wildlife removal business that will charge you to have them removed. The best option is to be patient and let the bobcats leave the den then cover the entrance. Otherwise, you might have a bobcat denning there next year. That may not be good if they are denning in the crawl space in the attic of your home. In the meantime, mama will be getting more protective if the den is approached. You might need to force mama to back down if she is blocking access to areas around your home. The easiest way to do that is get a spray bottle or squirt gun and fill it with ammonia. Spray the ammonia at mama and she will go the other way. Remember, your nuisance bobcat problem is temporary and will stop abruptly very soon when the kittens leave the den with mama for the first time. Hope this helps.
 


Sniper, Thanks for the very good info.

I would love to leave them there but unfortunately there is a liability issue. I am a real estate broker and it is a home we are trying to rent. If anything were to happen to a tenant, neighbor or pet, I could be held liable. I will need to do some more checking, but hopefully they can stay.
 
A landlord cannot be liable for the actions of a bobcat. The bobcat remains property of the state when it travels onto private land. Contact the AGFD and if the AGFD does not consider your bobcat situation to be a public safety hazard, then you may want to let the bobcats stay.

The AGFD typically delegates nuisance bobcat calls to private wildlife removal businesses and rarely deals with them. If you are lucky enough to talk to an AGFD urban wildlife specialist, they will likely tell you what I posted and not bother to do a site visit. If you contact a wildlife removal business, they will probably charge you around $100 for a site visit and they may charge you more if they remove the bobcats. Sometimes wildlife rehabilitation facilities will have volunteers available who can come out and do a sight visit for free and may offer to remove them for free depending on the circumstances. Since the bobcats are a few weeks away from leaving the den and not coming back, expect rehab facilities to be reluctant about removing/relocating them.

Here is a link to the AZ businesses that are licensed by the AGFD to remove wildlife and the contact info for all of the wildlife rehabilitation facilities.
http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/urban_rehab_relo.shtml


 
I feel your pain, man.
I took my brother to one of my spots last year and one came in on his side. He missed.
Then this year we go out and again one came in on his side.
He gets that one. So he now has a nice cat mount in his house.
Hopefully next year.
 
You are a blessed man! We occasionally have red and gray foxes in our yard, but never bobcats. I could sit and watch that for hours. Thank you for sharing.
 
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After sitting and watching them for several hours, I asked my wife if she still wants to shoot one.

She said ABSOLUTELY...just not THAT one.

I married a stone-cold killer.
 
My yard foxes enjoy the same protected status, even though I can see more red foxes in one afternoon in my backyard than I can in two years of hunting the woods around here.
 
After seeing the video, those kittens have left the den (where ever it was) and are now following mama. The video portrays those bobcats as setting up shop at that residence. There is probably a bird feeder, quail block, pet food, or other food attractant nearby. Those bobcats could hang around that residence for a while if the food attractants are not removed.

The predator/furbearer season begins on August 1st. Bobcats can be taken by archery in AZ in residential neighborhoods on private property within the city limits. Homeowner associations cannot interfere with taking wildlife where hunting is allowed by the AGFD.

Thanks for posting the pictures and keep us advised of their status.

 
That's wild - my daughter lives in SE Gilbert if that's where they are taken. I'll have to tell her about it and have them keep their camera handy just in case.

Great pics and video!
 
Originally Posted By: TAG-PredThat's wild - my daughter lives in SE Gilbert if that's where they are taken. I'll have to tell her about it and have them keep their camera handy just in case.

Great pics and video!

It is actually way up in North Scottsdale, almost to Cave Creek in a community called Legend Trails
 


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