The Illinois Department of Natural Resources reports 627 bobcats were hunted or trapped during the annual bobcat season that ended February 15th.
Jefferson County had 33 bobcats taken during the season, the biggest number of any county in the state. IDNR reports a full county-by-county total of the harvest will be released later.
A total of 405 bobcats were taken by hunting, while trapping accounted for 222 of the harvest. 27 were salvaged by permit holders from circumstances such as road kill. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources issued 2,000 permits for the 2025 season out of 9,700 bobcat lottery applicants.
The number of bobcats taken was down from the 649 taken last year.
