Editing Bobcat (section)

==Conservation==
[[File:Rotluchs2.jpg|thumb|The bobcat population has seen a decline in the American Midwest, but is generally stable and healthy]]

It is listed in Appendix II of the [[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]] (CITES),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml |title=Appendices I, II and III |access-date=May 24, 2007 |publisher=[[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070519090502/http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml |archive-date=May 19, 2007}}</ref> which means it is not considered threatened with extinction, but that international trade must be closely monitored. The animal is regulated in all three of its range countries, and is found in a number of [[protected areas of the United States]], its principal territory.<ref name=CAP/> Estimates from the [[US Fish and Wildlife Service]] placed bobcat numbers between 700,000 and 1,500,000 in the US in 1988, with increased range and population density suggesting even greater numbers in subsequent years; for these reasons, the U.S. has petitioned CITES to remove the cat from Appendix II.<ref name=Proposal/> Populations in Canada and Mexico remain stable and healthy. It is listed as [[least concern]] on the [[IUCN Red List]], noting it is relatively widespread and abundant, but information from southern Mexico is poor.<ref name=iucn />

The species is considered endangered in Ohio, Indiana, and New Jersey. It was removed from the threatened list of Illinois in 1999 and of Iowa in 2003. In Pennsylvania, limited hunting and trapping are once again allowed, after having been banned from 1970 to 1999. The bobcat also suffered population decline in New Jersey at the turn of the 19th century, mainly because of commercial and agricultural developments causing [[habitat fragmentation]]; by 1972, the bobcat was given full legal protection, and was listed as endangered in the state in 1991.<ref name=cons/> The Mexican bobcat ''L. r. escuinipae'' was for a time considered endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, but was delisted in 2005.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-IMPACT/2005/May/Day-19/i10002.htm | title = Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Petition Finding and Proposed Rule To Delist the Mexican Bobcat (''Lynx rufus escuinapae'') | access-date = June 27, 2007 | date = May 2005 | publisher = [[Fish and Wildlife Service]] | archive-date = May 25, 2012 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120525115855/http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-IMPACT/2005/May/Day-19/i10002.htm | url-status = live }}</ref> Between 2003 and 2011, a reduction in bobcat sightings in the Everglades by 87.5% has been attributed to predation by the invasive [[Burmese python]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dell'Amore |first1=Christine |title=Pythons Eating Through Everglades Mammals at "Astonishing" Rate? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/1/120130-florida-burmese-pythons-mammals-everglades-science-nation/ |website=National Geographic News |publisher=National Geographic Society |access-date=17 November 2020 |language=en |date=30 January 2012 |archive-date=18 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118192205/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/1/120130-florida-burmese-pythons-mammals-everglades-science-nation/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The bobcat has long been valued both for fur and sport; it has been hunted and trapped by humans, but has maintained a high population, even in the southern United States, where it is extensively hunted. In the 1970s and 1980s, an unprecedented rise in price for bobcat [[fur clothing|fur]] caused further interest in hunting, but by the early 1990s, prices had dropped significantly.<ref>{{cite report | first = William E. Jr. | last = Grenfell | name-list-style = amp | title = Bobcat Harvest Assessment 1995–96 | publisher = California Department of Fish and Game | date = November 1996 | url = https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentVersionID=4676 | access-date = 2013-02-26 | archive-date = 2013-04-19 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130419025231/https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentVersionID=4676 | url-status = live }}</ref> Regulated hunting still continues, with half of mortality of some populations being attributed to this cause. As a result, the rate of bobcat deaths is skewed in winter, when hunting season is generally open.<ref name=mort/>

Urbanization can result in the fragmentation of contiguous natural landscapes into patchy habitat within an urban area. Animals that live in these fragmented areas often have reduced movement between the habitat patches, which can lead to reduced gene flow and pathogen transmission between patches. Animals such as the bobcat are particularly sensitive to fragmentation because of their large home ranges.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=J. S. |last2=Ruell |first2=E. W. |name-list-style=amp |last3=Boydston |first3=E. E. |last4 = Lyren | first4 = L. M. |last5 = Alonso | first5 = R. S. |last6=Troyer |first6=J. L. |last7=Crooks |first7=K. R. |last8=Vandewoude |first8=S. U. E. |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05493.x |title=Gene flow and pathogen transmission among bobcats (''Lynx rufus'') in a fragmented urban landscape |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=21 |issue=7 |pages=1617–1631 |year=2012 |pmid=22335296 |bibcode=2012MolEc..21.1617L |s2cid=14206892}}</ref> A study in coastal Southern California has shown bobcat populations are affected by urbanization, creation of roads, and other developments. The populations may not be declining as much as predicted, but instead the connectivity of different populations is affected. This leads to a decrease in natural genetic diversity among bobcat populations.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1674/0003-0031-168.2.265 |title=Urban Habitat Fragmentation and Genetic Population Structure of Bobcats in Coastal Southern California |year=2012 |last1=Ruell |first1=E.W. |last2=Riley |first2=S.P.D. |last3=Douglas |first3=M.R. |last4=Antolin |first4=M.F. |last5=Pollinger |first5=J.R. |last6=Tracey |first6=J.A. |last7=Lyren |first7=L.M. |last8=Boydston |first8=E.E. |last9=Fisher |first9=R.N. |last10=Crooks |first10=K.R. |name-list-style=amp |journal=The American Midland Naturalist |volume=168 |issue=2 |pages=265–280 |bibcode=2012AMNat.168..265R |s2cid=86455286 }}</ref> For bobcats, preserving open space in sufficient quantities and quality is necessary for population viability. Educating local residents about the animals is critical, as well, for conservation in urban areas.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01458.x |title=Effects of Urbanization and Habitat Fragmentation on Bobcats and Coyotes in Southern California |year=2003 |last1=Riley |first1=Seth P. D. |last2=Sauvajot |first2=R. M. |last3=Fuller |first3=T. K. |last4=York |first4=E. C. |last5=Kamradt |first5=D. A. |last6=Bromley |first6=C. |last7=Wayne |first7=R. K. |name-list-style=amp |s2cid=85375755 |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=566–576|bibcode=2003ConBi..17..566R }}</ref>

In bobcats using urban habitats in California, the use of [[rodenticide]]s has been linked to both secondary poisoning by consuming poisoned rats and mice, and to increased rates of severe mite infestation (known as [[notoedric mange]]), as an animal with a poison-weakened immune system is less capable of fighting off mange. Liver autopsies in California bobcats that have succumbed to notoedric mange have revealed chronic rodenticide exposure.<ref>{{cite web|website=Urban Carnivores|year=2011|title=Notoedric Mange: A Sentinel for a Big Problem in our Local Ecosystems?|url=http://www.urbancarnivores.com/notoedric-mange-a-disease-of/|access-date=2016-07-29|archive-date=2020-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818120226/http://www.urbancarnivores.com/notoedric-mange-a-disease-of/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Riley |first1=S.P.D. |last2=Bromley |first2=C.|last3=Poppenga |first3=R.H. |last4=Whited |first4=L.|last5=Sauvajot|first5=R.M.|year=2007|title=Anticoagulant exposure and notoedric mange in bobcats and mountain lions in urban Southern California|journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=71 |issue=6 |pages=1874–1884|doi=10.2193/2005-615|s2cid=86058493|doi-access=free|bibcode=2007JWMan..71.1874R }}</ref> Alternative rodent control measures such as vegetation control and use of traps have been suggested to alleviate this issue.<ref>{{cite web|website=Urban Wildlife Research Project|access-date=August 5, 2016|url=https://urbanwildliferesearchproject.com/rodenticide-impacts-and-alternatives/|title=Rodenticide: Impacts and Alternatives|date=2015|archive-date=August 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820152127/https://urbanwildliferesearchproject.com/rodenticide-impacts-and-alternatives/|url-status=live}}</ref>