JACKSON, Wyo. — In Yellowstone National Park (YNP), a bobcat sighting is a special occurrence. Notoriously elusive, bobcats are a solitary species that the Park reports is rarely spotted by park visitors.
“The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a rarely seen resident of Yellowstone,” YNP writes on their Facebook page.
Even Thomas Mangelsen, legendary local wildlife photographer, waited almost half a century to spot one.
“Across the span of almost fifty years, I never captured a single image of one of these elusive, incredibly beautiful creatures.”
Thomas Mangelsen, wildlife photographer
“Across the span of almost 50 years, I never captured a single image of one of these elusive, incredibly beautiful creatures,” Mangelsen writes on his website, although his patience eventually paid off.
According to YNP, this rarity stems from the fact that bobcats are most active between sunset and sunrise, and also are able to camouflage in the rocky areas they frequent. Adult bobcats on average weigh 15 to 30 pounds, but YNP writes that they’re able to take down a deer or adult pronghorn on occasion. Their typical diet includes rabbits, hares, voles, mice, red squirrels, wrens, sparrows and grouse.
YNP distinguishes bobcats from lynxes by explaining that bobcats have no black tip on their tail, shorter ear tufts and smaller tracks. The precise number of bobcats within the Park is unknown, although they are considered generally widespread and not endangered. YNP’s website says most reported sightings occur in rocky areas and near rivers.
YNP’s Facebook page shows most sightings on the Madison River during the winter months, when their dark coat is less able to camouflage them.
The unique draw of bobcats can be seen in the estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars that one bobcat can bring to the gateway communities of YNP through tourism. Kristin Combs, current executive director for Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, tells Buckrail that because bobcats are seen so rarely, people will travel to see one if it’s residing in a reliable location for several days or weeks.
In Mangelsen’s website account of his experience photographing a bobcat, he notes that a group of visitors from around the world had gathered to view the carnivore.
According to a study published in 2017, the estimated economic value for a single bobcat in YNP for the 2015 to 2016 winter season was $308,105. Combs, who was also one of the authors of the study, says that the value is likely even higher today amid increasing visitation to YNP and Grand Teton National Park (GTNP).
However, while interactions between humans and bobcats are rare, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) confirms humans still present the biggest threats to bobcats; not only do bobcats depend on large territory ranges and interconnected wilderness areas, which human development is fragmenting, but over-hunting and trapping are causing notable declines.
Wyoming Untrapped confirms there are still no quotas on bobcats in the state, meaning there’s no limit on how many animals can be killed during a Wyoming trapping or hunting season outside of Park boundaries. Combs also points out that trap check times in Wyoming are notably lax, and in some cases a bobcat will be left in a trap for up to two weeks.
In an email exchange shared with Buckrail by Combs, former government trapper Carter Niemeyer, who worked in the Idaho, Montana and Wyoming areas for 50 years, says he sees bobcat populations being greatly impacted by trapping.
“Bobcats are highly vulnerable to trappers – some catching dozens or hundreds in a season,” Niemeyer writes.
Mangelsen also writes about the benefit of regulating bobcat killings and conserving the elusive species better for future chance encounters.
“Who in future generations might enjoy the privilege of seeing this bobcat’s offspring who learned to hunt waterfowl?” Mangelsen writes. “It’s another example of how these amazing animals we hold in our hearts are worth far more alive than dead.”
