Bobcat DNA Study Assesses Growing Population in NH

Bobcats, once hunted to near extinction in New Hampshire, have a more robust population today and scientists are studying bobcat DNA to assess the strength and range of the wildcat species.

The bobcat became protected in 1989, but residents and researchers have reported increased sightings over the past decade.

"The extent of this population increase is not known, but it does seem likely that bobcats have responded to more than 20 years of protection," John Litvaitis, professor of wildlife ecology at the University of New Hampshire, says in a press release. He is a researcher on the New Hampshire Bobcat Project. "With an apparent increase, there is renewed interest among many outdoor and wildlife enthusiasts about the influencing factors."

Scientists with the NH Agricultural Experiment Station at the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture are using DNA analysis to better understand bobcats.

The four-year project – "Understanding Bobcats in the Granite State" – is a collaboration with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Scientists are identifying what habitat features they rely upon, how bobcats respond to expanding human populations, and designing a method to monitor changes in bobcat populations.

The genetics portion of the project is led by Marian Litvaitis, professor of conservation biology, and funded by the NH Agricultural Experiment Station. COLSA graduate and undergraduate students are testing the DNA of bobcats from across the state. To date, scientists have extracted the DNA from the tissue of 133 mostly road-kill bobcats.

Researchers have been looking at bobcat populations in the southwestern and southeastern portions of the state. The southwestern area has been the historic stronghold of bobcats in New Hampshire. The southeastern area, on the other hand, is a region where bobcats were uncommon only a few years ago.

"It is clear that major interstate highways such as I-95, I-93, and I-89, the Spaulding turnpike, Route 101, and Route 3 present formidable barriers to bobcats, and it is highly likely that as a result, populations are isolated from each other to varying degrees. Such isolation can be measured using a population genetics approach," Marian Litvaitis says in the press release.

Rory Carroll, a graduate student in wildlife and conservation biology, is working on the genetics portion of the research. (WATCH the accompanying YouTube video to hear him speak about the project.)

Researchers are also using new techniques to extract DNA from a collection of bobcat skulls dating from the 1950s and early 1960s to try to estimate the historical population of bobcats. 

“When we have healthy predator populations, this benefits the entire ecological community, including other animals and plants," Carroll says. "It seems like the population is getting more robust, but the landscape now is very different than it was when bobcats were very widespread so we are interested to see if it’s even possible for bobcats to have a healthy, well-connected population."