A comparison of survey methods for detecting bobcats

Population trends in bobcats (Lynx rufus) have been difficult to monitor because traditional field survey methods usually produce very low detection rates. However, new methods of detecting bobcats have been developed. I compared the rate of detection, cost, and time required for automatic cameras, hair-snares, scent stations, and a detector dog trained to find bobcat scats. The detector dog produced nearly 10 times the number of bobcat detections as the other methods combined. The detector dog was the most expensive method and, depending upon weather and number of scats required, required more field time than the other methods. However use of detector dogs requires only one visit to each survey site. Hair-snares and scent stations were the cheapest methods but produced the least detections. Field time for hair-snares, cameras, and scent stations was similar. Use of detector dogs has the potential to consistently achieve sufficient detection rates to provide useful indices for population monitoring of bobcats.