Released without workup; previously radio-collared. One of 15 bobcats I had captured and radio-tracked for 2 years in the Mallory Swamp. Four were captured with the use of chase hounds; 11 captured with padded (rubber) soft jaw leghold traps.
She is breathing hard because of the struggle. But at no time is she choking. What you hear are a combination of hisses and snarls not quite coming out well, along with some heavy breathing at one point, due to the slight tightening of the neck restraint of the catch pole for a brief amount of time. As she would pull at the cable, this would cause the tension to increase a bit because this catch pole does not have a locking device. When I saw the restraint become tight in the struggle I backed off on the tension - but I had to pull her forward into a better position to work the spring lever releases. The tension released.
However, when I proceeded again to apply the levers to release the trap's spring, she tightened up again. At this point, I was already in place to remove the trap quickly and did so without adjustment to the tension. You sort of just move as fast as you can in this process and there really is no perfect way to do it, as many biologists who have used this technique will attest.
It does take some pressure on the pole to keep a cat from exploding in a burst of energy in order to release the trap, as you can see what happens after the trap is released.
It is a very dynamic situation requiring you to be exceedingly careful and good at knowing when to adjust the tension on the pole.
I used a catch pole with padded wire rope secured around the neck to immobiize in order to release the trap.
Releasing the jaws of the trap takes considerable effort for one person who is also managing the catch pole with the very active bobcat on its end, as both lateral springs must be depressed with spring retraction levers.
This research was done under permit by my state wildlife agency and under the auspices of my university at the time I was a grad student there doing this for my thesis.
I would use a sedation drug (e.g., ketamine hydrochloride with a xylazine buffer or telazol) for new cats captured that would get a collar, under veterinarian supervision. I would not use it on recaptures like this unless there was a need to change the collar or obtain blood samples. The use of such drugs just for a recapture event that was followed by release without any workup is not advisable due to the risks of these drugs on the physiology of the cat in general.
This video appears to be inhumane both in the capture method and the handling. But trust me on this - these cats are much more resilient than most realize. I never had any bobcat incur any injuries via this method of trapping and handling. Using dogs is actually more slightly dangerous for a number of reasons. But those dangers are minimized with a good houndsman, biologist, and wildlife veterinarian in the field, which what comprised our capture team in those events.
My research is detailed at www.coryi.org. The thesis is "Ecology of the Bobcat in the Mallory Swamp", 285 pages, University of Central Florida. 2002.
The research focused on many aspects to include social structure, home range size, habitat preference, mating and reproduction, bioenergetics modeling and prey preference, prey abundance, movements, mortality, corridor use, etc.
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Small Animal Traps - Part 2 of 2by alcoopextensionvideo31,473 views
you did a great job! Thanks for sharing!!! Awsome!!!!
crazyfarmer222 1 year ago