Table 2.

The winter diet of bobcats in northwest Montana

	Prey (total detections)	AFO (prey/total samples, N = 78)	RFO (prey/total detections, N = 94)	Biomass (% consumed in total diet)
Deer	5	6.4	5.3	8.5
Snowshoe hare	14	17.9	14.9	12.2
Red squirrel	38	48.7	40.4	54.0
Grouse	10	12.8	10.6	0.7
Cricetid rodents, total	27	34.6	28.7	24.6
Arvicolinae[Link]	10	12.8	10.6	16.5
Neotominae[Link]	10	12.8	10.6	5.6
Unknown Cricetidae[Link]	7	9.0	7.4	2.5

Scats were collected between December 2009 and April 2010 and between December 2010 and March 2011. Bobcat carcasses were collected in December 2009 and 2010 (M = 28; F = 19). After exclusion of trap bait and incidentally ingested items, samples totaled 78 (scat = 16; colon = 37; stomachs = 25). Dietary biomass consumed was estimated via a bobcat‐specific regression relating sample biomass to ingested biomass of different prey types (Baker et al., 1993).

One sample was muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus, in a female bobcat stomach. All others were voles.

Eight of 10 Neotominae samples were Neotoma cinerea. The others were Peromyscus maniculatus.

Unknown Cricetidae samples had no diagnostic bones or teeth, but fur indicated a Cricetid.