# Bobcats



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

How many of you have seen a bobcat in the wild?

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the outdoors, and until last night, had never seen a bobcat. I wasn’t able to snap a pic of it, but it sure was awesome to see it!!


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## flyfisher20 (Aug 5, 2011)

I have seen one. My dad and I were watching a drainage one morning while deer hunting. My dad spotted the bobcat walking right at us from about 80 yards out. I never saw it until it got to about 10 yards out. At that point he sensed us and turned and ran off the way he came. This was in northern Utah.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I feel quite lucky in that I have seen quite a few of them while doing other things out in the hills

The first one that I saw was up Spanish Fork Canyon while deer hunting. We watched it stalking a cottontail. But the most that I have seen have been out in the Book Cliffs. 

I have aslo seen quite a few mountain lions 

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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

I've seen hundreds over the last 40 years in my cage and foothold traps.  Does that count?


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Seen quite a few in southwest wyoming, especially queens with kittens.

Seen a good number of them in leghold traps too.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

taxidermist said:


> I've seen hundreds over the last 40 years in my cage and foothold traps.  Does that count?


Yeah, that counts.


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

We used to trap as well. Caught a bunch of them. 
I have seen them in the wild 4 times. 
They don't stick around long enough to do much about it 😜. 
My question is......
How many times have you walked up on a trap and had a lion in it ??


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

2full said:


> We used to trap as well. Caught a bunch of them.
> I have seen them in the wild 4 times.
> They don't stick around long enough to do much about it 😜.
> My question is......
> How many times have you walked up on a trap and had a lion in it ??


A total of 4 times. I guess that's not bad 1 lion every 10 years? All four were all hooked up in a #4. I stopped setting the 4s and replaced with 3s. Only snapped one yearling after that. 

I'll tell you what.... That's a good way to see how your modifications to your gear hold up!


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Oh ya....I wanted to add, All catches were in walkthrough sets with a CD flag.


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## one4fishing (Jul 2, 2015)

A buddy and I pulled into the firefighters memorial campground by the gorge late one summer night to catch a little sleep on our 3 day traveling fishing bender we were on. He slept in his truck and I on the dirt. About 10 minutes after crawling in my bag looking out away from camp I could see something coming pretty quickly towards me in the moonlight, figured a raccoon. When it got close enough I could see it’s pointy ears and stubby tail. I laid there calmly as it hopped on a downed tree right next to me scooted across it and continued on past camp. 
Pretty cool to see. It reaffirmed my buddy’s phobia of sleeping on the ground.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I called one in once with my Foxpro.

I saw something coming into my call shortly after making a stand but I couldn’t get a look.

It stayed hidden and crept behind a small bush and then I lost him. Several minutes passed and out of nowhere I noticed him sitting under a Juniper. No idea how he got there.

I admired him for a while in my rifle scope and then he finally left.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Seen probably 10 or 15 in my day, but my latest encounter makes me very angry with them. Time line: end of last summer there where 15 or 20 turkeys in a little isolated flock I have been chasing for a while....January of this year, on a scouting trip, there where only about 8 left in the flock BUT lingering near by was a big old Bob Cat scurrying through the trees...two weeks ago all I could find left of my flock was 2 toms....is it SSS time?


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Here is a couple when I was hunting elk, they were playing with a doe, couldn't figure out what the doe was doing at first running back and forth and jumping in the air over and over until I got close enough to see the cats. They never knew I was there, they came up to that fence in the foreground and jumped up on it and walked along it for a ways.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

This is a pic of the doe, she had her head down chasing the bobcats. You can just see her body in the tall grass. The first pic you can see one of the bobcats behind her following her. It was fun to watch. Wish I had video of it.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

CPAjeff said:


> How many of you have seen a bobcat in the wild?


5... in one day. Mama was hauling them across a trail in front of me. They were pretty small and not keeping up so she kept running back and grabbing them and dragging them along. Pretty cool.

-DallanC


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

Bax* said:


> I called one in once with my Foxpro.
> 
> I saw something coming into my call shortly after making a stand but I couldn’t get a look.
> 
> ...


Same deal. Coyote hunting and outta nowhere I look up and there's a bobcat sitting 15 yards away staring at me. I've seen a few others here and there. Didn't have a tag, so I watched it watch me for about 10 mins and then it walked off. Pretty cool.


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## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

In 2015 I seen one in the Book Cliffs it ran across the road near Indian Ridge right in front the truck it stopped glanced at us we stopped and it just walked away like nothing, it was full grown and it was cool to see one up that close!


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## justismi28 (Aug 19, 2014)

I had one at 50 yards last year with my boy the night I shot my bull. We were sitting some water, and it came walking in quite as a ghost. I saw it and pointed it out to my boy, and we watched it while it watched us for about 5 minutes before my bull walked in. The elk walked in between us and the bobcat, and when I drew my bow I watched it walk away over the top of the bull before settling my pin. Very cool experience for both me and my then 7 year old.


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## Idaho Randy (May 17, 2021)

justismi28 said:


> I had one at 50 yards last year with my boy the night I shot my bull. We were sitting some water, and it came walking in quite as a ghost. I saw it and pointed it out to my boy, and we watched it while it watched us for about 5 minutes before my bull walked in. The elk walked in between us and the bobcat, and when I drew my bow I watched it walk away over the top of the bull before settling my pin. Very cool experience for both me and my then 7 year old.


I shot my first bobcat out at Promontory Point in Box Elder county when I was 15. 1968. It was night and with a hand spotlight. It was legal to spot light back then and I did it for many years. In 1972 my first 4x4 truck I mounted two Spotlights on the roof. And every truck I ever had up until the late 90's. I'd spend every Friday and Saturday night spotlighting all night long, all winter. The most we got were 4 cats in a night. And a couple coyote. Back then coyote had a $7 bounty, we would just need to turn in the ears with the nose. But then in the latter 70's the government had to stop using wolf hair to line the parkas for the military. They switched to coyote and the coyote fur marked was borned.


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## cowboy (Oct 12, 2021)

Was calling turkeys on SJ unit and heard a tiny noise behind me. Turned around super slow and locked eyes with a Bobcat at three yards. He was in full sneak mode looking forward turkey breakfast. My wife was ten yards ahead of me as I was trying to call her in a Tom. Coolest thing to have that cat so close.
I see them all the time ranching. Neat critters for sure. Hell on turkeys though. The DWR planted thirty turkeys out by out cow camp in a canyon. Started finding piles of feathers under the roost trees. Bobcats would get them in the night. Wiped them out.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

cowboy said:


> Was calling turkeys on SJ unit and heard a tiny noise behind me. Turned around super slow and locked eyes with a Bobcat at three yards. He was in full sneak mode looking forward turkey breakfast. My wife was ten yards ahead of me as I was trying to call her in a Tom. Coolest thing to have that cat so close.
> I see them all the time ranching. Neat critters for sure. Hell on turkeys though. The DWR planted thirty turkeys out by out cow camp in a canyon. Started finding piles of feathers under the roost trees. Bobcats would get them in the night. Wiped them out.


Easy dinner for sure. That's one of the times I actually know that the DWR has feed an animal within their care.


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## jlofthouse16 (Oct 18, 2021)

Yes, I have seen Bobcat on many occasions.


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