In general, animals need four things to survive: food, water,
cover, and space. This is true of all animals from snakes to
bobcats to birds. The amount of land needed by an animal to
find these four requirements is known as its “home range.” As
a rule, predatory species such as bobcats have a much larger
home range than prey species such as deer and rabbits.
Bobcats are abundant on Kiawah Island because they
can readily find the food, water, cover ,and space that they
need to survive. In fact, food and water are probably the easy
part. Development on Kiawah has had the effect of creating
optimal habitat for prey species, such as cotton rats, squirrels,
rabbits, and deer. Yards, roads, and golf courses create gaps in
the forest that allow sunlight to reach the ground, promoting
understory growth along edges, which is ideal habitat for prey
species. In addition, irrigation and fertilization of native and
landscaped shrubbery provides high-quality food sources for
these species as well.
The third requirement, cover, is also found throughout
Kiawah in the form of undeveloped lots, buffer strips, marsh
edges, secondary dunes, and conservation areas. The fact
that these undeveloped areas are interspersed throughout the
Island is important. Because of this, bobcats do not have to
travel very far to find the cover that they need.
As development continues, the amount of cover on the
island will continue to decrease and efforts to create, preserve,
and enhance areas of dense cover will become much more
important.
The final requirement for animals is space. Because the
amount of “space” on Kiawah Island is fixed, it limits the
number of bobcats on the island. The easier it is for bobcats to
find the food, water, and cover that they need to survive, the
less “space” they need, and the more bobcats the island can
support.
Why are bobcats so important to Kiawah Island? The short
answer is that they are a top predator and play an essential
role in the balance of the ecosystem by helping to control
rodent and deer populations. Research on Kiawah has shown
that bobcats take approximately 50 percent of the deer fawns
born each year. This natural control helps regulate and
maintain deer numbers at acceptable levels, thereby reducing
deer-vehicle collisions and landscape shrubbery damage.
Kiawah Island has many rare qualities: a spacious beach,
first class amenities, and beautiful homes. But don’t forget
the bobcats. They may be the most truly unique thing that
Kiawah has to offer. NK
Meet Jim Jordan. He has been the
Wildlife Biologist for the Town of
Kiawah Island since 2000. He is
from Columbia, SC and received a
Bachelor’s degree in Biology from
Furman University and a Master of
Science Degree in Wildlife Ecology and
Management from the University of
Georgia. Jim’s work at Kiawah involves
nuisance wildlife management,
invasive plant control, beach
management, wildlife population
surveys, community outreach, and
wildlife research. Over the last 16
years, Jim has conducted and/or
coordinated a variety of research
projects on Kiawah Island, focusing
primarily on white-tailed deer ecology
and fawn survival, bobcat ecology and
habitat use, songbird migration and
banding, and most recently, coyote
behavior and habitat use. His bobcat
research has been featured in National
Wildlife and South Carolina Wildlife.
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