Bobcat harvest up 8 percent to 343 in Illinois this year
(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois officials say 343 bobcats were taken by hunters and trappers this winter.
The Department of Natural Resources announced on Friday results from the bobcat season that ran from Nov. 10 to Feb. 15.
The department says it issued 1,000 permits to hunters and trappers for the season. The harvest limit on the season was 375 animals.
Pike County in western Illinois recorded the most bobcats taken, at 25. There were 20 harvested in Randolph County, southeast of St. Louis.
The number of permits was doubled from 2017-18. Last year there were 318 bobcats harvested.
Of this year's total, 159 were harvested with guns, 129 were trapped, 18 succumbed to archery and 37 were "salvaged" road-kill.