A round of golf on Kiawah Island, and you may catch a glimpse of an alligator sunning itself near a water hazard. The more elusive predator you may not see is the bobcat. We certainly are fortunate to have the bobcats. They do control the deer numbers. They certainly help out with rats and mice. By and large, residents love them. You know I'm in the position to do research on these animals because of that love, said Jim Jordan, Wildlife Biologist for the Town of Kiawah.
In '07 we started using GPS and the sky's the limit with GPS. The technology is just to the point where they're making them small enough to go on things like a bobcat, added Jordan.
Expansion on Kiawah has been as much as 80 houses per year, but Jordan says its been gradual enough to allow the bobcats to adapt in a unique fashion."Here literally the cats are in the back yards. They're on porches. They'll come up and look in windows. These cats have adapted like no other cats on the planet, said Jordan.
The bobcats are a sign that the ecosystem on Kiawah is thriving and healthy. And speaking of bobcats successfully adapting, how about humans?
We've never had a problem. Usually it's just someone calling up to say, I have a bobcat in my yard. Might be sick or something?" and our response is, No, he's just doing what bobcats do here, said Jordan.
