The New Hampshire Wildcat is Back

I’ve always had a keen interest in nature, starting with the study of birds since the age of 7. This is one of the reasons I enjoy living in a semi-rural area in the state of New Hampshire.

There’s nothing like catching a glimpse of New Hampshire’s stunning wildlife right in your own back yard. For this writer, some of those sightings include 145 species of songbirds, along with ducks, geese, turkeys, grouse, herons, foxes, possums, fishers, rabbits, coyotes, a six point buck, many female deer, twin fawns that seemed to move as if on springs, and the elusive Bobcat, which was first seen by me in the early 1990s and again in 2003.

Moose and bear have been seen in the yards of my neighbors. There have even been two reports of Mountain Lions in town, thought to be gone from the area since the late 1800s, but which could not be confirmed since unfortunately, neither of the observers had photographic proof.

A friend who raises farm animals caught a Bobcat on his trail cam. It came during the night to feed on one of his sheep that had been killed by a coyote and became covered with snow.

This week, Bedford resident Kristin Hellings Noble spotted something in her back yard. This is not the first time she has seen a wildcat roaming alongside her garden patch, but the first time she was able to get photographic proof.

Two years ago, she saw something she thought was a deer. She said the animal was uniform in color, had a long tail, was not shaggy around the face, and was much bigger than what she saw this week. Too shocked to get the camera, she just watched instead.

This time, she saw the cat circle around and then lay in the grass. While she took pictures, it never moved, but just watched her. “It seemed like it could care less that I was there,” she said. “I watched it for quite a while until it eventually got up and walked a little further away and sat down. Then it lazily strolled off, not spooked by me in the least.”

After confirmation that she had indeed sighted a Bobcat at 4:30 in the afternoon, Noble commented that she thought these animals only came out at night. “What a beautiful animal”, she added. “But now I’ll probably be wondering if it’s out there watching me”.

Trapping and killing Bobcats used to be legal. By 1989, New Hampshire’s Bobcat population was said to have dwindled to around 200. But once hunting them was banned, Bobcats have been on the rebound. NH Fish and Game now estimates their population to range between 1,100-2,200 depending on the time of year.

While I support hunting and consider myself a connoisseur of wild game such as turkey, pheasant, duck, and deer, I can imagine no reason to trap or shoot Bobcats.

A proposal to resume the hunting of the creature, which weighs around 30 pounds and resembles a very large housecat, is being met with opposition.

According to NHPR “New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission began a discussion on whether to open a bobcat trapping season. The proposal is far from final, but it’s already attracting the ire of the animal rights community.”

Trappers say they want them for the fur. But wouldn’t it take an awful lot of pelts to create one garment or even just a hat? Wouldn’t rabbits and mink, raised for that very purpose, be a better supply of natural fur, rather than risk the endangerment of a unique species that could easily be wiped out as it nearly once was?

Now I can’t stop thinking of those two sightings that were suspected of being Mountain Lions. You can bet that this time, those cameras will be ready.

Photo Credits
Kristin Hellings Noble (Bobcats 2015)
Jane Aitken (Easter Deer 2015 and Twin Fawns 2011)
Melinda Johnson (Bear 2010)