A bobcat is a "nuisance animal"?

[ceile]

This just seems so wrong....


"Adult Bobcat Caught In Isleworth
Nuisance Animal Euthanized"

"We had release points out in the forest areas, and we had signed documents with people who would let us release them out on their properties," Tanski said.

But that's all changed. A new state law says that nuisance animals -- like bobcats, raccoons and possums -- can no longer be relocated to a different habitat once trapped.

"This new state statute is pretty cut and dry," Tanski said. "Once trapped, the animal either has to be euthanized in a humane way or released back on the property where it was trapped in the first place."
http://www.wesh.com/cnn-news/18442716/detail.html

[Jackpine Radical]

1. I guess bobcats are nuisance animals

if they keep preying on your herd of bobmice.

[deaniac21]

21. The bobcat can be an ass

The Bobcat hunts animals of different sizes, and will adjust its hunting techniques accordingly. With small animals, such as rodents, squirrels, birds, fish and insects, it will hunt in areas known to be abundant in prey, and will lie, crouch, or stand and wait for victims to wander close. It will then pounce, grabbing its prey with its sharp, retractable claws. For slightly larger animals, such as rabbits and hares, it will stalk from cover and wait until they come within 20 to 35 feet (6 to 10 m) before rushing in to attack. Less commonly it will feed on larger animals such as foxes, minks, skunks, small dogs and house cats.<16> Bobcats are also occasional hunters of livestock and poultry. While larger species such as cattle and horses are not known to be attacked, Bobcats do present a threat to smaller ruminants such as sheep and goats. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Bobcats killed 11,100 sheep in 2004, comprising 4.9% of all sheep predator deaths.<24> However, some amount of Bobcat predation may be misidentified, as Bobcats have been known to scavenge on the remains of livestock kills by other animals.<25>

It has been known to kill deer, especially in winter when smaller prey is scarce, or when deer populations become more abundant. One study in the Everglades showed a large majority of kills (33 of 39) were fawns, but that prey up to eight times the Bobcat's weight could be successfully taken.<26> It stalks the deer, often when the deer is lying down, then rushes in and grabs it by the neck before biting through the throat, base of the skull, or chest. On the rare occasions that a Bobcat kills a deer, it eats its fill and then buries the carcass under snow or leaves, often returning to it several times to feed.<16>

The Bobcat prey base overlaps with that of other mid-sized predators of a similar ecological niche. Research in Maine has shown little evidence of competitive relationships between the Bobcat and Coyote or Red Fox; separation distances and territory overlap appeared random amongst simultaneously monitored animals.

[Warpy]

25. I suppose they'll also prey on dogs and cats

as well as small farm animals.

Bobcat/domestic shorthair hybrids are rare, but they are known to have occurred.

The only animals I consider nuisance animals are mosquitoes and other blood sucking insects. Predators have a very important function in the ecosystem of culling old, sick, weak, or stupid animals...or those with bad parenting. Although it might be a nuisance to lose the odd lamb to a bobcat or wolf, the animals are by and large beneficial.

We might not like it when Bambi gets eaten, but that just teaches Bambi's mom to be a little more vigilant next time. There are worse things than bobcats out there.

[Jackpine Radical]

29. I once saw a bobcat/domestic cross. God, what a weird looking animal.

[Warpy]

30. My mother had 2 of them when I was born

One looked more like a bobcat but had the domestic shorthair personality. The other looked like a domestic shorthair, but watch out.

My mother would go shopping and leave me in the baby carriage out on the sidewalk next to the entrance of the store. If anybody got too close to the baby carriage, s/he would withdraw a bloody stump. The one that looked like a domestic shorthair was very protective.

You're right, though. There's one pic of them and they do look weird.

[deaniac21]

32. If they are being a nusiance on my land they become purty

furry statues.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. They'll attack pets.

Won't they?

[sinkingfeeling]

7. Occasionally. Usually they will prey on small animals within their habitat.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. Spraying is also an issue, isn't it?

And I suppose they can cause accidents when they run across the road.

[MajorChode]

12. So is it the bobcat's fault, or the person who supplied it with...

a fresh supply of food?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. So is it the euthanizer's fault?

Or the bobcat's for being a nuisance?

The question, Chode, was whether or not bobcats were a nuisance. Like possums. Or raccoons.

[MajorChode]

17. So I only get two choices?

Kinda sounds like the makings of a false dichotomy, no?

I would say that none of the 3 you mentioned could be reasonably determined to be a "nuisance" so long as they are simply trying to survive in their own native habitat.

Animals that I consider to have the potential of being a nuisance are non-native species which have been imported. Like house sparrows, cows, pigs, pets, and humans.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

36. So will hawks and even herons

if you happen to have a koi pond.

I think this is ridiculous. They should've released him where they found him.

[arcadian]

3. Yeah whales are nuisance animals too

Those tankers and freighters keep hitting them. :eyes:

[suston96]

4. The only "nuisance animals" i know are humans.....get rid of them......nt

[chucktaylor]

22. You first.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. In Tucson, AZ, one would curl up on the hood of my Corvette just like any other cat.

Guess Florida's new statutes will allow for the euthanization of stray dogs and feral cats as well.

[JaneQPublic]

6. The ultimate "nuisance" animal: Human (nt)

[Chiyo-chichi]

8. Yep. the bobcats were there before it was an Orlando neighborhood.

[MajorChode]

9. What is even more disturbing is that an animal can be considered a "nuisance"...

just for living in the areas in which it has always lived.

If a species is native to the area, it can't be considered a "nuisance" simply because it is trying to survive. Especially when the most likely reason someone declared it a "nuisance" in the first place was because it was eating someone's dog or cat which aren't native species.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. If a bobcat ate your terrier, you wouldn't consider that a nuisance?

Not even a pet peeve?

(no pun intended)

[MajorChode]

18. No

Because the bobcat was a native species that has a right to survive in that native habitat.

I might certainly be saddened by the loss of a pet, but that doesn't mean I need to blame another animal when it was I who provided it with its meal.

[sinkingfeeling]

20. As I said above, I once lived in Tucson, at the very outskirts, in the desert and there were a

lot of bobcats. I also had 3 cats and 3 dogs there. As long as the pets were inside their own yard, they were OK from bobcats. Never did one of the bobcats jump the wall or come through the wrought iron gates after the pets. However, a Colorado River toad did poison and kill one of my dogs.

[ShadesOfGrey]

23. If I decided to move to an area with predators I'd take precautions...

to prevent it. I wouldn't expect the cats to give up their home for my convenience.

[MajorChode]

26. That's the right attitude, but it's not shared by many

In my area, people routinely petition the city to "do something" about the coyotes that are eating their cats and dogs.

I kinda like the sound of the coyotes howling at night, so I'm thankful they come around due to the fresh supply of pets being provided by some of my neighbors.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. You live in some place that wasn't once habitat to predators?

In outerspace, perhaps? Or deep under the earth's crust?

[ShadesOfGrey]

31. Actually, I DO live in a such an area...

and have pets, and ENJOY co-existing with the wildlife. If I didn't like wildlife, I wouldn't have moved here. MY pet peeve is snow. I hate it! It'd be sort of stoopid of me to move to Alaska and complain about the cold and snow, no?

[truedelphi]

11. Yet another reason why I wouldn't spend any tourist dollars in Florida EVER. n/t

[kickysnana]

13. Only when it is in your garage. n/t

[H2O Man]

15. Bobcats

are fascinating. There was a den out in our woods when we moved here. As soon as the little ones were old enough, their mother moved them away. But for about a month, we were able to watch them (from a distance).

Two years ago, a fairly large one was hit and killed on a road near here.

I've never considered them to be a problem.

[ORDagnabbit]

19. republicans are nuisance animals.....

[ColbertWatcher]

24. Bobcats guard foreclosed homes ...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bobcats5-2008sep05,1,1680944.story

[slackmaster]

28. Wow

That's something you don't see every day.

[ColbertWatcher]

37. They probably won't publish any more accounts.

Otherwise people would freak.

[hfojvt]

33. they seem to be far more of a nuisance than raccoons or possums

a threat to life and not just property.

[sinkingfeeling]

34. So are human beings.

[originalpckelly]

35. Bobcats are nuisances:

[Contrary1]

38. I always thought that this little beggar was a hybrid...

Never found out for sure. He showed up most every night at supper time for a couple years.

[SoCalDem]

39. When humans move into BOBCAT territory (what's left of it)

no doubt they "do" become a "nuisance".. They are WILD animals who have to do everything for themselves.. they have to raise their young on their instincts and hunting techniques. They need water, food & shelter, and if humans put little animals out in the yard, or put in fountains, and leave their trash cans available, they turn their yards into "Bobcat Cafe"..

Of course humans never see themselves as the problem..it;s always the "animals" who are rogue and terrorizing their beloved pets..

I live in a city, and I can promise you, I have never been besieged by raccoons, burros, opossums, skunks, deer, bobcats, cougars, bears or any other wild animal...BUT I have friends who CHOSE to live in the foothills, and they have been "visited" by ALL of those critters..

[Cleita]

40. Well are they going to enjoy the increase in the rodent populations once

they start getting rid of the predators who take care of that little balance of nature.

[ejbrush]

41. Well, the one with the bad muffler that plows out our alley at 3:30 am sure is. N/T