Bobcat (Collar) in Your Yard? The DEEP Wants to Know

Is there a bobcat collar in your yard? OK, how about a bobcat? Connecticut environmental officials want to know.

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials are asking state residents to notify the DEEP Wildlife Division if they find a global positioning system bobcat neck collar in their yards or while outdoors.

As part of a DEEP research project on bobcats initiated in the fall of 2017, GPS collars were placed on 50 bobcats throughout the state. The collars have been collecting and transmitting data about Connecticut's bobcat population back to the DEEP.

DEEP Officials said every collar is programmed to automatically detach from the animals on Aug. 1. Wildlife Division staffers will then start recovering the collars, which will still be transmitting signals from throughout the state, officials said.

DEEP officials said anyone who finds a collar in a yard or while walking in the woods can contact the Wildlife Division at 860-424-3045 or via deep.ctwildlife@ct.gov, and arrangements will be made to retrieve it.

DEEP officials said residents can continue to report sightings, particularly of bobcats with yellow ear tags.

Sightings can be reported on the CT Fish and Wildlife Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/CTFishandWildlife), or at deep.ctwildlife@ct.gov.

This study aims to investigate bobcat habitat use in different housing densities in Connecticut. Biologists want to determine how the state's bobcats meet their needs in both rural and suburban areas, as well as how successful bobcats are at reproduction and survival.

More information about the bobcat project and a guide on how to report sightings can found on the DEEP website at www.ct.gov/deep/wildlife.

Photo Credit: Linda Tomas (bobcat), Melissa Ruszczyk/DEEP Wildlife Division (collar)

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