This Seaside Paradise Is One of the Best Places to See a Bobcat

Matt Nelson/Unsplash

Cats are generally thought of as being water-averse.

While there are wildcats that are good swimmers (like the jaguar), cats of any kind still aren’t associated with living in an island paradise.

But there is one species of wildcat that’s made its home in a surprising area: the sandy dunes of Kiawah Island, South Carolina, around 25 miles from the state’s biggest city of Charleston. The Kiawah River separates this chunk of land from the mainland, and the beautiful shores lining the Atlantic Ocean make it a private beach haven and popular golf resort destination.

By all accounts, it doesn’t seem like a place fit for the stealthy bobcat, but this barrier island has a special habitat this species needs to thrive: miles and miles of lush maritime vegetation.

Jim Jordan, a wildlife biologist with the Town of Kiawah Island, says they’re perfectly at home here. “They’re going to be in the densely vegetated dunes on the marsh edge. The transition between forest and tidal marsh is very dense, with a lot of good cover for them to hide in,” he explains in an episode of the United States of Animals.

The island has an abundance of seagrass and shrubs, and unlike the perfectly manicured lawns and back yards found in some areas of the state, residents here are invested in ensuring the bobcat has more space to roam—even if it means leaving their properties relatively untouched and wild, or landscaping in a way that’s inviting to the bobcat using native plants.

Elisabeth King, Director of Outdoor Programs at Kiawah Island Golf Resort says:

We want to make sure that every back yard is an extension of our maritime forest, or an extension of our dune system. That helps to keep the wildlife here.

And it’s important that they stay here, as bobcats play a crucial role in the health of the local ecosystem, keeping prey in check. The Town of Kiawah Island has been studying these felines for close to 15 years through the Kiawah Bobcat GPS Research Project, and according to the website, it’s “the longest continuous GPS study on bobcats in the world.”

Through this research project, biologists found that the bobcat population here was healthy and stable, with approximately three bobcats for every square mile of the island. At one time, they believed there were between 30-35 cats in total, about twice the density found in other parts of South Carolina.

But beginning in 2017, an increase in bobcat deaths was recorded, raising concerns about the ecological stability of the area and the possibility of prey populations expanding rapidly.

Biologists discovered that exposure to or ingestion of toxic pesticides being used to mitigate rodent problems was the primary cause of death among at least seven of the island’s bobcats in recent years. This led to significant community-wide bobcat preservation efforts among residents, businesses, and pesticide providers focused on educating people about the dangers and effects of using second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs), along with pledges to stop their use.

While many are trying to protect the bobcat population to ensure that they continue to thrive here in the future through the Bobcat Guardian Pledge program, there is still a lot of work to be done. The Town of Kiawah Island's website provides more information about bobcats and lists ways you can help save them, along with more resources and recent news.

As the Kiawah Conservancy’s website says, “Eliminating anticoagulant rodenticide use on Kiawah Island will ensure fewer poisoned prey entering the food system, and give our wildlife species a chance to thrive once again.”

With continued education and cooperation on ceasing the use of SGARs, hopefully the island will manage to hold onto its status as one of the best places in the U.S. to see a bobcat in the wild.

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