The bobcat was on Illinois’ threatened species list from 1977 to 1999.
Five years ago, amateur photographer David Horning was driving along a gravel country road in southern Illinois when the sight of a bobcat with a rabbit clenched in his teeth stopped him in his tracks.
He took several pictures before the brown spotted cat disappeared with his prey into a thicket of woods. A printer by trade whose hobby includes wildlife photography, Horning said such sightings in that part of Illinois are much more common nowadays, though the bobcat doesn’t always succeed at finding a meal.
“I saw one trying to take some wild turkeys and he didn’t stand a chance,” the Eldorado man said. “He was so small, they were almost laughing at him.”
Illinois may lift its more than 40-year-old ban on hunting bobcats, which were once a protected species in Illinois. The measure, which is awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn’s approval, amends the wildlife code to allow hunters to kill one bobcat in a season that would run Nov. 1 to Feb. 15. Hunters may use a gun, dog, or bow and arrow.
Illinois banned bobcat hunting in 1972 after the population was decimated by habitat changes and unregulated hunting for the highly valuable spotted fur. The animal was on Illinois’ threatened species list from 1977 to 1999.
Supporters say the need to control the now healthy population is a conservation success story. But critics are crying foul. In fact, the Illinois Environmental Council is lobbying the governor to veto the measure.
Executive Director Jennifer Walling said the legislation was rushed through with little scrutiny and testimony from ecologists and scientists. The bill as written is absent specifics about how such hunting will be regulated and whether it will be allowed statewide or specific to southern regions.
She said it also doesn’t set emergency procedures to halt the season if the species becomes threatened again.
“We don’t oppose proper management of hunting programs that take into account ecological sciences,” said Walling, who urged caution if the measure becomes law. “But no one has answers about whether the bobcat population is causing any real damage.”
Bobcats, named for their short, bobbed tail, are about twice the size of a common house cat. They use their keen sight and hearing to hunt rabbits, squirrels, small rodents and some birds. They are nocturnal, reclusive animals with few predators in the state and prefer forested or wooded areas, according to wildlife experts.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources estimates the bobcat population has grown to 5,000 statewide, mostly in southern regions. The estimate is based on Southern Illinois University research and anecdotal observations from deer hunters. There have been credible bobcat sightings in all but a few of Illinois’ 102 counties, state officials say, and population growth is estimated at about 4 to 9 percent a year.
Rep. Wayne Rosenthal, R-Morrisonville, sponsored the measure. Rosenthal said he introduced the bill after hearing concerns from hunters about bobcats depleting wild game populations and constituents with farms irked that the big cats were plucking off their chickens and pet cats.
“What most people tend to forget is that bobcats are predators, just like coyotes,” said Rosenthal. “They’re not house cats. The key is to make sure we have a viable population — which we do — and that’s what we want to keep without it getting out of control.”
The measure sailed through the House in March. But it encountered more resistance earlier this month in the Senate, where it passed during the veto session after much debate and without a vote to spare. Illinois chapters of the Humane Society of the United States and Sierra Club have joined the Illinois Environmental Council in opposition.
“Opening a trophy hunting season on bobcats is not backed by sound science, and would potentially expose this iconic species to the same cruel and inhumane practices that led to their population decline in the first place, such as trapping and hounding,” said Kristen Strawbridge, the Humane Society’s Illinois state director.
Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, which advocates for wildlife and environmental protection, said his organization recognizes the important role hunting plays in conservation. Still, he said, it is too soon for the recently rebounded population to face a hunting season.
“Our hope is that this recovery will continue, to the point where bobcats return to areas with suitable habitat, including the Chicagoland area. … It would be a shame to sacrifice a major conservation achievement to allow the taking of a few bobcat pelts,” he said.
Longtime hunter Doug Pruett doesn’t get the fuss. He owns Bighorn Outfitters in Pike County, just north of Alton, and said his region and those farther south could support a bobcat hunting season. He said bobcats are “hunters of opportunity,” indiscriminate of prey as long as it can be caught. He said hunters have reported seeing fawn bones near bobcat dens.
“It’s another success story,” Pruett said of Illinois’ bobcat population rebirth. “The state got it going. The numbers are good. It’s time for a (hunting) season. It’s that simple.”
The bobcat is far less populous in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, according to experts. In DuPage County, which boasts the state’s third-largest forest preserve district with more than 25,000 acres, sightings of wild bobcats remain rare, officials said.
One bobcat can be found at the Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn. The male has lived in an enclosure along the center’s outdoor exhibit trail near other disabled native animals since 2005. Officials say he was brought there after being struck by a car in Grafton, and suffers permanent vision loss.
Quinn has not received the bobcat bill yet, said spokesman Dave Blanchette. He said the governor has not taken a public stance yet, but plans to act on the measure before he leaves office next month. Blanchette said the governor has received a lot of public reaction to the bill, with the majority urging a veto.
If the bill becomes law, state natural resources officials said, the bobcat hunting season likely won’t open for another year to give the state time to set up rules and the permit process. It hasn’t been determined yet if bobcat hunting would be allowed statewide or just in specific counties.
Horning said he supports a regulated hunting season to control the rising population. Still, he said, bobcats are pretty harmless but for the small rabbits, squirrels and rodents they chase.
“Whenever I see one,” Horning said, “I’m rooting for him.”
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