Until recently, it was extremely rare to see a bobcat in southern Wisconsin, but ‘cats appear to be expanding their range as sightings, trail camera pictures and trapped animals are all on the rise in the Badger State.
Here’s an excerpt from a Wisconsin State Journal story:
Last fall, a bobcat was photographed by a landowner’s trail
camera in Dane County and the photo was sent to the Department of
Natural Resources. Earlier, a bobcat was caught and released in a
live trap in Juneau County.“We are seeing an increased presence of bobcats in southern
Wisconsin, especially in southwestern Wisconsin,” said John Olson,
furbearer specialist with the DNR in Park Falls. “We’ve had bobcats
caught and released from foot-hold traps near Horicon, along the
Mississippi River, and even in Dane County.
Further evidence of the spreading Wisconsin bobcat population walked into a restaurant I was at last year. A local trapper told me he had trapped and released two different bobcats that fall less than a mile from my family’s hunting property in Juneau County. I have yet to see a bobcat or even evidence of a bobcat on the property, but I’m definitely watching closer now that I know they’re in our neck of the woods.
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