Illinois bobcat season concludes with 290 harvested

SPRINGFIELD – The 2021-2022 Illinois bobcat season concluded Feb. 15 with 290 bobcats harvested by hunters and trappers.

A total of 174 (56%) of bobcats were taken by hunting, while trapping accounted for 116 (37%) of the harvest. Twenty-three (7%) were salvaged by permit holders from circumstances such as road kill.

Hunters and trappers in Jefferson County reported 17 bobcats, which was the most for any county this year. There were more than 6,000 bobcat lottery applicants in 2021, and 1,000 permits were issued for the season.

The bobcat harvest from the 2020-2021 season was 339, with 22 salvaged.

The IDNR appreciates the support of hunters, trappers and IDNR staff who collected jaws for the bobcat research project at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The IDNR continues to monitor the status of bobcats and will evaluate the program as new data become available from ongoing research. For more information about bobcat hunting and trapping, visit https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/trapping/Pages/Bobcat-Hunting-and-Trapping.aspx.

Year      Hunting     Trapping    Total      Salvage
2016         81           49         130         11
2017       159         159         318         40
2018       177         129         306         37
2019       151         155         306         29
2020       196         143         339         22
2021       174         116         290         23

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