In a word yes. But unlike the coyote, the bobcat is not a major killer of whitetail deer. A 6-year research project conducted in Texas found that bobcat scat contains much more deer during the month of June—the major fawning period– than any other time of the year. This and other studies have concluded that while bobcats across their range do indeed prey on fawn deer in the spring, they are not a major predator, and only rarely kill adult deer.But a big male cat is an opportunistic eater of even big deer! A few years ago, John from North Carolina sent me this story.
John was hunting the last day of deer season. A mature doe with 2 button bucks entered a food plot. Suddenly all 3 deer became alarmed; the doe blew and bounded into the middle of the field. John had a clear line of sight at the doe; he started to squeeze the trigger, but then he wondered if it was a big buck back in the woods that was making her nervous.
The deer blew again, ran farther across the plot, stopped again and looked back on full alert. John decided it was probably not a buck that had startled the deer, so he shot the doe. The 2 button bucks ran away and just then a 20-pound bobcat sprinted into the field, jumped and put a death lock on the dead doe’s neck!
John shucked another shell into the chamber. The bobcat was still locked onto the big meal, and he did not intend to give it up. John put the cat in the crosshairs and squeezed off his last round. The critter did not flinch. A miss?
John sat awhile and then yelled at the cat to see if he was alive—no reaction. He climbed down from his stand and walked up to the two animals with his empty gun. The bobcat was looking right at him, still with a death grip on the doe. The cat was stone cold dead!
John called everyone at camp to come and look and take pictures. They had to load the doe and bobcat together because they could not separate them.