Bobcat

Sometimes it takes an animal to help us find our direction. LINK

If you've ever seen a bobcat cross a country road and go on his way you know the feeling of seeing something wild and elusive. I have a place in the Catskills where most bobcats are seen mounted and stuffed, with a nice one going for a few hundred bucks. There's a stark contrast between "locals" who have grown up harvesting wildlife as trappers and hunters and "weekenders" who come up from the city to enjoy wildlife and peace and quiet on the weekend at their second homes. I can appreciate both positions, with some modifications. My dad trapped mink, muskrat, fox and the like back in the depression for extra money and later in life grew to appreciate wildlife as an observer and caretaker of the creatures on his property. A balance must be struck between traditional harvesting of game and total protection of diminishing predator populations. Until the states, in this case New York, change some of the hunting and trapping laws declines in populations of animals like the bobcat will continue to decline. The bobcat has a two month hunting and trapping season from late October through February and there are no bag limits, meaning you can take as many as you can. We do more to protect hatchery raised trout than the regal bobcat. Let's modernize the hunting and trapping laws on the books to preserve the wild populations of wildlife for those who hunt and fish as well as those who just want to watch.
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