Is this a bobcat?

[UglyDuckling1009]

Hi there! I have been losing at lot of birds and finally picked this up on trail cam. My ducks stopped going into coop last year and lived in the pond but now they don't go into the pond for some reason (snapping turtle maybe). Since they have been out of the water, every few nights we have lost a bird. The ducks finally wisened up and sleep by our house and the dog kennel but now I am losing a chicken every few days (during the day because they are locked up at night). I can only assume its because of this feline. A another lady in the area believes her chickens are being taken by a mountain lion because the prints are so large. This is southern Missouri and bobcats are more common out here as its thought to be that mountain lions just pass through.

I am also looking for any suggestions to a resolution to this issue. Unfortunately my lot is too big not free range the birds and time and money are not something we have much of.

So bobcat or mountain lion and how do I find it?

 

[D13]

Terribly sorry to hear about your losses

It doesn't seem to have those signature ear pointies like a bobcat; so my immediate thought is mountain lion. (Though it could just be the trail camera's quality that didn't pick it up)
I'm really sorry to hear about this, this situation sucks. I don't know how to deal with a mountain lion, I've never had any problems with them. Maybe you could find a YouTube video on it?

 

[StinkyAcres]

Certainly not a mountain lion. Looks better for a bobcat. It probably has kittens to feed.

If you can't install a fence (I recommend electric wire or netting) you will continue to lose birds. Even if you are able to trap and shoot it (ask your local Fish and Wildlife Department first!) another predator will take its place.

 

[UglyDuckling1009]

Yes, its prime mating time. I assumed she had kittens. I understand predators will always come and birds will be lost but this one is consistent and wont stop till they are all gone

 

[nuthatched]

Can you pen your birds for a few days.

 

[MountainWoman73]

Body shape looks right for a bobcat. I had the same happen to ducks who stopped sleeping inside. The bobcat took one a night. Things that have helped me with a bobcat are a dog who trees predators, keeping them inside the coop for a couple weeks until the predator changes their habits, and putting hot wire along the top of my run fence to discourage climbing. I have a large run, so it's topless and not really predator proof, but the hot wire really seems to help!