In Garland Texas. They just did a report from a neighborhood were residents have seen the "big" cat often even with some kittens. One guy had taken pictures and said it weighted 75 pounds. Then they showed the pictures and the cat couldn't have been more then 30-40lbs on it heaviest day. Thought y'all and usuraguy especially would enjoy it.

We saw that too. My wife asked me "how much did that bobcat that you killed weigh?" I said "No more than 35 pounds maybe just 30 pounds". She said "Then that guy right there is full of ****".

Now if a 36 year old CPA who has never killed or hunted a thing in her life can recognize that the cat on TV weighed nowhere near what they were claiming, then the TV crew should be able to recognize it too and weed out the B.S. parts of the story.

Yeah, I saw that. Supposedly has kittens (quite likely), but that bobcat is probably 25-30 at the most. Glad to hear most of the folks weren't freaked about it, but I did get a laugh out of the statements by the guy with the bleached tips.

The Dallas media loves running with bobcat stories. There a 3-4 reporters that will call and ask if they have a real story (usually they don't). I personally get a kick out of doing media stories. I get a bigger kick out of the reporter when they come to realize they don't have a story. Like when they want me to identify the plaster cast "mystery tracks" (Benbrook, Lake Worth a 3-4 years ago) as a mountain lion, nope, big dog. Or the Sachse/Garland "mountain lion" scare several years ago. The lady that started the scare simply filmed a large, male bobcat in his winter pelt. The reporter got a nice clip of her saying "we watched bobcats all summer, and this is no bobcat". Yes, it is. The next day they held a huge public meeting in Frisco for the mountain lion "sightings". If anyone remembers the news story on the matter, most of the news clips were me. So how did the media twist it after the meeting, "Citizens are concerned about large cats, but the state is unconcerned". They didn't mention that the lady that started the stink, left the completely happy and satisfied her kid and huge lab were fine.

Well, guess I'll be getting more calls tomorrow

Oh yippy, they are running it again here shortly.

[This message has been edited by ursusguy (edited 8/16/2010 10:02p).]

FS, that is simply because CPAs are among the smartest, most obsevent, and frankly, best looking people on earth. Humble too.

Here's one I shot a picture of last Oct. about 75 ft from my front door. My wife had never seen a bobcat in her life, so I called her out. While holding our then 4 month old baby "That's what everyone keeps freaking out about? Yikes these people are pathetic."

There is a stuffed bobcat at cabela's that I'd say would have weighed about 60 to 70 just based on his size vs my brother's lab.

Yes my brothers old lab is a fatbutt that eats better than any dog alive.

Keep in mind the heaviest known bobcat is a 76 lber out of Maine. 35 lbs is considered large in Texas.

My Dad shot one in the 40 pound range last year and it was a monster compared to any I have ever seen before.

You will be hard pressed, in Texas to find a female Bobcat wieghing over 20-25 lbs. Most toms will go around the 30-35 lb range, with a very few hitting 40. IMO, you won't find a bobcat in Texas weighing 50-70lbs.

When they said 75 pounds I laughed and mentioned that the record cat had to be close to 70 pounds. I shot one that very large and it weighed 41 pounds and it was a Tom most I have shot are in the 17-23 lbs range.

This is still a Big Bobcat for Texas!

I got an old female bobcat about 2 years ago near new year's and she was a gorgeous ol' gal. Big for south Texas, at least the biggest I've seen, but she was definitely in the 30lb range. We were out there mainly looking to coyotes, and when I saw her she was far enough away and it was late enough in the day for me to think she was a coyote. I dropped her and got up close and thought, wait a minute... coyotes don't have spots... holy crap that bobcat's huge! I was thouroughly disgusted with my self for not getting her mounted or at least her pelt preserved. :-(

Does everyone shoot bobcats if they see them? I let a couple go last year.

Does everyone shoot bobcats if they see them? I let a couple go last year.

Doebusters(TM) hasorders on our primary hunting place to kill them on sight, but I let them walk.

I let two walk last season, just because I don't see very many. But if I was on a buddies ranch where I know they are more common, I would probably shoot one- especially if I had a chance to take one with a bow.

so ursus, should I submit the pics that I took a few weeks back so I can have a press conference on my front lawn?

I like to varnmit hunt and the ranchers like them shot, I know a guy that takes them for their hides and scent glands.

Yes ENG you should

Nothing new. Many a redneck hunter has been talking up and grossly exaggerating the size of bobcats for decades to make the hunting of them sound a lot more dramatic, or to talk up the danger of them to other game populations or livestock...

They kill birds, rabbits, and rodents, and MAYBE the occasional fawn, I suspect. They probably thought prairie chickens were good eats until we almost made them extinct.

[This message has been edited by MouthBQ98 (edited 8/17/2010 1:01p).]

Mouth, believe it or not, they can and do effect other game. They are the primary predator on turkey, for instance. I am sure they take their fare share of lambs and kids (goat), too.

I spotted a bobcat in my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago while out on my morning run. I've seen less than 5 in my life, but I'd estimate it was 25-30 pounds. I didn't realize I was supposed to alert the media.

I live in sheep and goat country, and trust me bobcats take their fair share of kid goats and lambs. But those cara caras, hawks, and black headed buzzards kill just as many if not more.

Could have been a tiger...they are known to inhabit the DFW area....

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/072110dnmetunionstationtigers.75c8f.html

[This message has been edited by agwrangler2001 (edited 8/18/2010 10:09a).]

Was it black?

Last bobcat I shot was when I was 15. 22lb female that I had mounted. Since that time I've seen probably close to 100 and have let every one go on it's way. They are fun to watch now that I've gotten a little older. They do no harm except to help keep the turkey population in check.

Williamson County just had a big meeting on a Mountain Lion sighting in a neighborhood. A "concerned" citizen asked what the state was going to do about the dogs and cats being eaten. The Game Warden said "Nothing" They had no proof it was a Mountain Lion and if it is it had moved on.

People from out of state or city dwellers are idiots when they come to a rural area.

In Kyle, I was walking and there was a water moccasin on the trail. An older man with black socks to his knees was trying to grab the snake. I told him i would not do that. he looked at me and said, "Why, is he poisonous?" I walked off shaking my head.

I took a shot at a "lynx" one time that was at least 50lbs. The other bobcats I have seen have all probably been less than 30lbs.

I don't really know the difference (bobcat vs lynx) but the lynx I saw had large tassels on its ears and was much stockier than most cats, it was also a much darker coat than the typical tan bobcat I see. It was in Brown county.



[This message has been edited by BBDP (edited 8/18/2010 12:31p).]

The problem with trying to estimate the weight of a live bobcat, is that due to it's lanky stature, the appear to weigh a lot more and look a lot bigger than they actually are.

I knew a guy, in Brownwood, when I was a kid, that was an expert at calling bobcats and was called out to many ranches in Brown County to take care of some of the problem cats getting after goats and sheep.

He had killed several hundred, and told me that his goal was to take one that weighed 40lbs. To the day he died, the closest he came was 38lbs and when you walked up to it, it looked like it would have gone 50-60. He said, and I agree, with the long legs bobcats have, they appear to weigh a lot more than they actually do.

So, when I hear of someone saying they killed a bobcat weighing even over 30lbs, I will question if it's an estimate or if it was actually weighed after the kill.

the female I had mounted looked like she would go between 30-35 but actually weighed 22, which is still larger for a female.

Lynx do not exist any where near Texas, you probably just saw a large bobcat. If it was in the winter, it probably just had it's winter coat which will make them look much larger. I have taken quite a few bobcats, and the largest may be close to 25-30 pounds.

On a side note, when I was a kid hunting near Jefferson, a guy shot a bobcat that was larger than a spike another guy shot. This was back in the early 80's and no one even tried to weigh it.

quote:

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The largest bobcat on record weighed 48.9 pounds (22.2 kg).[9]

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[9] Cahalane, Victor H (2005-03-01). Meeting the Mammals. Kessinger Publishing. p. 64.

[This message has been edited by FirefightAg (edited 8/18/2010 1:21p).]

[This message has been edited by FirefightAg (edited 8/18/2010 1:22p).]

Is that Brown County Saskatchewan?

FireFighter, that reference is based off of a known state record. The northern Midwest states, and New England get legit bobcats that occasionally go over 50, with the one out of Maine going 70+.

I know several trappers like Doc mentioned whose simple goal is 40 lbs, and haven't gotten there.

I kill em occasionally, and for one to weigh more than 30 pounds is pretty impressive. Biggest I ever killed was around thirty. But I saw one that one of the federal trappers out in langtry killed that tipped the scales at 39 1/2 pounds, and it was HUGE.




The bigger one in this pic only weighed 27 lbs and the skinnier one on above it wasn't weighed but I bet it didn't go 18-20 pounds.

[This message has been edited by greenmachine (edited 8/18/2010 8:40p).]

I've posted this before.

This is what a 5'8", 180 lb man looks like holding a 41 lb bobcat.


Edited at request of person pictured

[This message has been edited by SPI-FlatsCatter 84 (edited 8/18/2010 9:00p).]