Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is committed to gathering the most accurate wildlife harvest data that inform the management of these species. This winter, FWP is launching a voluntary collection of bobcat genetic samples as part of a research project in Montana.
Bobcats are a highly regulated species harvested throughout the state by trappers and hunters. Determining the sex of your harvest can be challenging for some.
Recent research from some western states has shown up to 21 percent of harvested bobcats are identified as the incorrect sex. This error can generate larger implications when applied to population models at the statewide level.
To continue to ensure the most accurate bobcat population estimates, harvest quotas, and data being gathered, FWP is conducting a voluntary study to compare the trapper-determined sex at the time of registering your harvest to a genetic determination.
FWP would like to gather high-quality muscle tissue samples the size of a pencil eraser from each bobcat harvested.
You can pick up a sampling kit and Tyvek identifier tags at the Miles City regional FWP office.
To help keep track of which sample goes with which bobcat, please use the below process for tagging and sampling your bobcat. You will need two Tyvek label tags and one tissue sample vial per bobcat.
For any questions, please contact furbearer biologist Emily Mitchell at 406-234-0923.
Sample submission steps
