The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting public comments on a draft bobcat conservation and management plan—the first such plan in state history—that was developed over five years. The plan follows a 2020 state law that made it illegal to hunt, trap, or take bobcats except in limited circumstances such as damage control.
According to the Department, the state's wild bobcat population is estimated at more than 62,000 animals—a figure similar to estimates from 1977 and 1981, though based on more rigorous scientific methods.
The study identified vehicle strikes and disease, particularly mange, as the leading known causes of bobcat deaths, though those figures reflect the most easily detected fatalities.
Only California's Fish and Game Commission can reinstate a hunting season on bobcats. The management plan is intended to provide the scientific information and management scenarios the commission would use to make that decision.
The comment period closes Nov. 1, 2026.