Otter and Bobcat Quotas Filling Quickly in Iowa
OutdoorHub 11.15.11
After 10 days in to the furbearer season, Iowa furharvesters have reported 372 otters and 114 bobcats as of Nov. 15.
Furharvesters must call a conservation officer or designated DNR employee within 24 hours of capturing an otter or harvesting a bobcat.
The animal will be included in the daily updates of harvest totals and remaining quota provided on the DNR’s recorded hotline 515-281-5918 or on its website http://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/TrappingFurHarvesting.aspx.
Once the quota is reached, trappers may keep any otter or bobcat captured within the 48 hour grace period. Otters and bobcats accidentally captured after the grace period and bobcats captured in an area of the state closed to bobcat harvesting, must be turned over to the DNR without penalty.
The river otter season is open statewide with a quota of 650 otters, plus any that are trapped by midnight of the following day after the quota is reached. The season limit is three otters per licensed furharvester
The bobcat season is open in the southern three tiers of counties, plus Guthrie, Harrison, Monona and Woodbury counties. The open zone quota is 350 bobcats, plus any that are trapped by midnight of the following day after the quota is reached. The season limit is one bobcat per licensed furharvester, regardless if it was hunted or trapped.
The harvest quota numbers are updated regularly by calling the Iowa DNR at 515-281-5918.
