Survival and Cause-Specific Mortality-Rates of Adult Bobcats (Lynx Rufus)

Publication Date

1995

Journal or Book Title

American Midland Naturalist

Abstract

We calculated survival and cause-specific mortality rates of 15 radio-marked bobcats in western Massachusetts during 1982-1985, and compared them to similar data collected elsewhere in the U.S. to assess their usefulness for population management. Annual survival of adult (≥ 1.0 years old) bobcats in Massachusetts (0.62) was similar to rates in other areas (0.56-0.67), excepting circumstances of high harvest rates (0.49) or very high poaching (0.19); there were no consistent trends in sex-specific survival. In many areas, sources of mortality other than legal trapping or hunting (e.g., poaching, starvation, disease, predation), may be substantial (x̄ = 53% of all deaths for studied populations) and should be incorporated into models of bobcat population change.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.2307/2426311

Volume

134

Issue

2

Pages

404-408

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