Question about cats

[Tex]

My neighbor has several hundred acres of high fence with deer and a few elk on it. Over the past couple of months he has had 3 deer killed by what we are assuming is a cat. I know there are cougars in central Texas but I would think with their large home range that 3 kills is a lot for this one area. We do have quite a few bobcats in our area.
Will a bobcat kill a deer? I just feel like that with as many pigs as there are in our area that they would make an easier target than a big 12 point.

[Reaper]

yes a bob cat will kill a deer, here is an example caught on camera

[Huntingnut]

Sounds like you need a Trapper's License; or a good spotlight.

[Tex]

The 12 point was killed 3 days ago. I told him he should put a trail camera on it but he is out of town until the weekend. He has invited me over to hunt this weekend I just hope I won't be the one being hunted

[Mike Murphey]

a female mountain lion with cubs will take 3-5 deer a week...a single male will take 2-3 per week....

[Huntingnut]

The 12 point was killed 3 days ago. I told him he should put a trail camera on it but he is out of town until the weekend. He has invited me over to hunt this weekend I just hope I won't be the one being hunted

Go strapped for war or don't go at all.

[bowhuntntxn]

why do you assume they are cat kills?? Is it possible something else is killing them and a bobcat is coming up on them and eating them? the odds of it being a big cat are very small. but the odds of them dying from disease, old age or some other form of predation are much higher.

[Tex]

why do you assume they are cat kills?? Is it possible something else is killing them and a bobcat is coming up on them and eating them? the odds of it being a big cat are very small. but the odds of them dying from disease, old age or some other form of predation are much higher.

It's not old age. There are only 11 deer on the place that are over 4 years old and it hasn't been any of them. No signs of sickness or disease and the 12 point had tears and scratches as well as large spots off blood on the ground. There have been a few coyotes seen in past years but they were killed. I just think it has to be something that is climbing trees and jumping out and in.

[Tex]

a female mountain lion with cubs will take 3-5 deer a week...a single male will take 2-3 per week....

Wow I had no idea they took that many. I was guessing 1 to 2 a month.

[bowhuntntxn]

had they been eaten? Very rarely does a predator kill for sport. were there any kind of tracks around the carcass?? there would have to be some sort of sign of struggle with evidence of a predator.

hope they figgur it out.

[Tx625]

Kill a coyote, or a hog as soon as one comes out! Let it lay there and hopefully a cat will come in. Worked for me 2 days ago!

[32drawlength]

need trail cams set up all over the place

[tpostaggie]

I'm pretty sure the estimate of how many deer a lion hunts is overestimated. I went to a TPWD Youth Camp a few summers ago and the people there said it was 1 deer/similar sized animal a week, at least for a single lion. 3-5 deer a week is an insane amount of meat..

[Codie]

absolutley a bobcat can kill a deer

[bowhuntntxn]

Kills are generally estimated at around one large ungulate every two weeks. The period shrinks for females raising young, and may be as short as one kill every three days when cubs are nearly mature at around 15 months.[26] The cat drags a kill to a preferred spot, covers it with brush, and returns to feed over a period of days. It is generally reported that the cougar is a non-scavenger and will rarely consume prey it has not killed; but deer carcasses left exposed for study were scavenged by cougars in California, suggesting more opportunistic behavior.


did the dead deer have any of the characteristics?? Bite marks on the top of the neck, covered with brush, and only partially eaten? if so a carcass camera should catch it coming back for more. did the other 2 show signs of this kind of kill?? Any signs of struggle??