Would anyone know of any good info (research studies etc.) About bobcats eating deer?
I am going to be talking to a deer rancher about preditor trapping and he is not at all concerned with bobcats, only coyotes.

Thanks

Go online. I know bobcat eat deer. I am unaware of any studies on it.

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,32&q=bobcat+AND+white+tailed+fawn

80C (and anyone else who isn't using it or know it exists), google scholar is the cheapest fastest way to find articles about a variety
of topics. While google will give you lots of things in the regular search, scholar will pull up published information, so from the
journal of wildlife management and other peer reviewed publications.

This link is just a quick search with Bobcat AND white tailed fawn which to me is the angle the owner would most likely respond to.
Really depends on the country and time of year, if you are talking fawns they are susceptible to everything on four legs with teeth (and
a few flying predators as well), but once we are talking adult deer, the number drops in a big way unless you are talking a very specific
individual cat that has the size and education to take down deer of any near adult size.

Google scholar, lots of info if you've got interest and time......

Justin

Coondog, I spent a fare amount of time on line searching and found mosly pictures an opinions so I firgured someone on here is a lot smarter than me and I was right. thank you HD... I am very computer literate but I have never heard of google scholar. Thank you for taking the time to look up the info.

They will eat deer. I shot one a couple years ago in bad shape, we came to the conclusion it had to be a bobcat that caused the injuries. The hind quarters were tore up pretty bad. Later that winter we got a trail cam picture of a cat bigger than any I have ever seen.

I had a picture from a game camera of a 25+ pound bobcat killing and eating an 8 point mature buck, so it does happen. Felines commonly kill and attack up to three times their own size.

Very welcome 80C, for the a long time I always used the library gateways I had access to when I was a govt. employee for research and pubs, but without that google scholar turned out to be the next best thing. Of course if you really want to get the info and present it for a big job or for a large contract, if you have an ag/science library/wildlife college anywhere near you these folks can really help you get the most bang for your buck. We use the UNM science library for consulting we do out here and in about 2 hours I can pull all the pubs I need and generally there are very few we are blocked from due to the college paying into the large holders of publications.

I would of course agree too with coyote and Reginald that grown bobcats are plenty able to take an adult deer, but the fawn crop to me is where the owner might be most motivated. Wintering deer yards in snowy areas like MI, MN, WI and the northeast can make it easier for bobcat to take deer that are limited in their ability to escape and in the middle of the toughest time of year. Cedar swamps we saw a lot of this tracking cats and coyote in northern lower peninsula.

Of course if the guy had quail or turkey, you will find an abundance of info tied to bobcats, far more than the deer literature!

Best of luck,

Justin