Pennsylvania Game News - February 2013 - 44

Game Commission releases bobcat back into the wild
A CAT may not have nine lives, but a young bobcat in the Poconos received a second one recently, according to Game Commission ofﬁcials. A female bobcat kitten was discovered in a wooded area of Luzerne County this past spring by a couple hiking in the woods. The 7-week-old cat was found weak and unable to walk, and without any adult female seen in the vicinity. The situation remained unchanged the following day, and arrangements were made to deliver the bobcat to the Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation Center near Saylorsburg, Monroe County, for medical care and rehabilitation. The Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is licensed for wildlife care through permitting by the Game Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Game Commission Northeast Region Biologist Kevin Wenner speculates that the female parent may have met an untimely demise. “Bobcats are sometimes hit on the roadway, or die from disease or a variety of other causes,” Wenner explained. “It would be rare to have a female cat abandon her young.” When the bobcat arrived at the rehabilitation center it weighed about 1.5 pounds and was in poor physical condition, according to Kathy Uhler, Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation Center director. “It was provided an initial diet of specialized formula, and then weaned to a diet of small mammals and birds, including rabbits, pigeons, rats and mice,” Uhler said. “Animals were fed to the cat alive when possible. While this may sound distasteful to some, it
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is necessary to stimulate natural hunting behavior. “The cat was housed in a secure enclosure with double doors to prevent escape, and human contact was kept to an absolute minimum to discourage imprinting.” When it was time for the release, Wenner approached the enclosure quietly and cautiously, as a group of students from East Stroudsburg University and reporters from the local media looked on. “The cat seemed to sense something was amiss and it let out a low, guttural growl,” Wenner said. “The cat was positioned high on a rafter as Eric Uhler, who is largely responsible for the daily care of the animal, and I entered the innermost door. We were greeted with menacing bared teeth and hissing as the young cat swiped at the air from above. “The tranquilizer dart, containing a mixture of animal immobilization drugs, found its mark in the cat’s shoulder, and soon made handling the animal possible. The bobcat was taken outside and a scale showed its weight a healthy 14 pounds.” East Stroudsburg University students obtained hair samples to determine its genetic proﬁle, as part of an ongoing study, and then the bobcat was transported in a pet carrier to a remote section of SGL 186, in Monroe County. “The habitat there makes it an ideal release site,” said Wenner. “It provides plenty of food and cover to meet the animal’s needs. The hunting and other survival behaviors of bobcats are largely instinctive, and this cat has a good chance to make it.”
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Pennsylvania Game News - February 2013

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