Capture and Handling
Bobcats and coyotes in both study sites were captured using cage traps
(Tomahawk Live Trap, Hazelhurst, Wisconsin, Model 209.5, and homemade
traps with similar dimensions, Beltrán and Tewes 1995) and rubber-padded
foothold traps (Minnesota Trapline Products, Pennock, Minnesota,
MB-650-RJ, Skinner and Todd 1990) during four winter capture seasons
from January through March 2018 and 2019 and mid-November through March
2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Bobcats were chemically immobilized with
ketamine and xylazine and recovered inside a cage trap before release
(ZooPharm, Beltrán and Tewes 1995). Coyotes were chemically immobilized
with BAMTM (butorphanol tartrate, azaperone, and
medetomidine hydrochloride) and were reversed post-handling with
naltrexone and atipamezole before release (ZooPharm, Butler et al.
2017). All captured animals were fitted with LiteTrack Iridium 250 GPS
collars (Lotek Wireless, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada) equipped with a
release mechanism to drop off. Most collars recorded GPS locations once
every 1.5 hours but 14 collars had a different schedule (1, 2, 3, or 4
hours).