Backfill Bobcats onto another map

[lean needle]

This is pretty self-explanatory. Bobcats are a common species throughout North America, yet currently they can only be found on Rancho Del Arroyo (Mexican Bobcat) and New England Mountains (regular Bobcat). I would really like to see Bobcats backfilled onto another map to better represent their large range in North America.

Mississippi Acres would be the ideal reserve for this in my opinion. Mississippi doesn't have many species on it, and isn't commonly hunted anyway except by players going after Alligators. Bobcats have a sizable population in the deep south, and the pine forests and swamps of Mississippi Acres are perfect Bobcat habitat. Bobcats would fit perfectly in the areas that don't have Alligators currently (which are areas in the east and southeast of the map). If their range wouldn't overlap too much with the Alligators, the "animals spooking because of predators" issue probably wouldn't be much worse on that map than it is now. Keep the Bobcat population on the map pretty small (the density could be about the same as NEM, so their numbers wouldn't be very high) and keep their range from overlapping with the Alligators wherever possible, and I think you'd have a perfect species to backfill on Mississippi.

That being said, another potential candidate for a Bobcat backfill would be Silver Ridge Peaks. While we already have a feline species on SRP in the form of the Mountain Lion, we don't have any small predators on SRP currently. The southeastern end of the map doesn't have Mountain Lions currently, and it sort of feels like it's lacking a predator species. Bobcats could potentially be added to this region of the map. Since this region of the map also doesn't seem to have Rocky Mountain Elk anymore, Bobcats could have the same drink time that they do on NEM without interfering with the Elk drink time on the map. I think this would be a good way to backfill SRP with a species that is common in the region where it is based.

[tacit charm]

For SRP I’d prefer a small canid,Either if the foxes or coyotes works,But I’d like to see both on another map. However I do agree,Bobcats would be perfect for Mississippi

[lean needle]

I agree, I think Coyotes and Red Foxes would be great additions to SRP. I was just saying that Bobcats are also an option for SRP.

[tacit charm]

Yeah,hence the “I’d like to see both”.

[lean needle]

yeah I get what you meant

[lean needle]

I made a potential range map for where Bobcat drink zones would be found on Mississippi Acres. They would be in the far eastern areas of the map, in the wild forested areas that don't have any presence of Alligators.

[tacit charm]

I’d give them a few spots in between the individual plots of land within the tree line,as it’s not uncommon to see bobcats near AG fields too!

But other than that,this would be incredible,all Mississippi is missing in my opinion (after this) is Coyote,Mallard and More of the Classic American Waterfowl.

[lean needle]

will try and change that, thanks for the constructive criticism

[lean needle]

Okay, I spent a little more time editing the range map and here's what I got. The bulk of the Bobcats would still be in the eastern areas of the map, but there would be some random pockets of Bobcat populations scattered along various forested sections of the river and the northern shoreline of the map.

[tacit charm]

Perfect,Not nearly as crazy as other maps with small predators,something that desperately needs a change.

[rigid pendant]

Bobcats and coyotes would be brilliant on SRP. Both are very common in Colorado. To save some pressure on the general population file and the game engine (i.e., can't have TOO many animals on a map), the population of mountain lions could be dialed back considerably, making them fairly rare (as *per * reality). I'm sure the black bear grinders will not complain.

[tacit charm]

100% perhaps to balance that out,Mountain Lions could get a rework,getting a fur type by the name of Blue gray.

(To show that it’s not just a winter coat)

[lean needle]

Oh yeah, speaking of SRP Bobcats, I made a potential Bobcat range map on SRP, keeping them in the same areas as Pronghorn to prevent them from interfering with the Mountain Lions

[rigid pendant]

Bobcats in Colorado mainly live in aspen forests (well, forests generally), not where pronghorn live. Coyotes, however, do

[lean needle]

the thing is, the areas that have pronghorn on SRP currently are a sort of mix of Aspen forests and grassland

[tacit charm]

Well then those three bodies of water and lake in the farthest south would work best

Yeah,Pronghorn really aren’t condensed to the plains in this game weirdly enough,because considering that they evolved to out run cheetahs……

[lean needle]

yeah, I don't think it would necessarily be unrealistic to have Bobcats in the southeastern region

it's a mix of forest and grasslands with a little bit more forest than grassland.

[lean needle]

In addition to being backfilled onto another map (or maybe a couple of maps) I think Bobcats should also have their in-game weight changed, since it's currently exactly the same as the Eurasian Lynx. Realistically the Bobcats in the game should have a maximum weight of 27 kg (at the most), since that seems to be the very heaviest that they can get in real life. There's no way a real Bobcat would weigh between 35-45 kg, which is their current maximum weight range.

If the Bobcat max weight was changed to 27 kg, that would give them the same maximum weight as the Coyotes in the game. In that case, I would hope that Bobcats would remain Class 3 and hope that Coyotes would be moved up to Class 3 alongside them. After all, Coyotes are much bigger than all of the other Class 2 species currently, and Bobcats would be too if their max weight was changed to something more realistic.

[lean needle]

bump

[sweet epoch]

Hmm, bumping Coyote to Class 3 while making Bobcats more accurate in size, this is a good idea

[gloomy forge]

Hello Fuzion5729,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on introducing Bobcats to other maps, particularly Mississippi Acres and Silver Ridge Peaks. Your suggestion to represent the broad range of Bobcats in North America is valid, and we appreciate your detailed insights on potential locations and considerations for their placement.

We'll certainly pass along your suggestion to the rest of the team for their consideration. Your input is valuable as we continue to enhance the game and provide a more diverse and realistic hunting experience.

If you have any more ideas or feedback, feel free to share them with us. Happy hunting!

[lean needle]

Here are the final drink zone range maps I came up with for Bobcats on Mississippi Acres and Silver Ridge Peaks (note that these are completely hypothetical). I tried to make their ranges on the maps as extensive as possible while having as little overlap with other big predators (like Alligators and Mountain Lions) as possible. I'm hoping to see a Bobcat backfill on both of these maps, or at least one of them, in the near future.

[lean needle]

bump

[torn torrent]

In all honesty bobcats, coyotes and red foxes should be on all north American maps. All three can be be found just about everywhere on the continent with the only exception being red fox on rancho because although there are fringe population in Mexico, they are just that, fringe population mainly focused around towns and cities and even then only in the northern portion. Similarly red fox should be put into all of our current Eurasian maps as well

[sweet epoch]

Bobcats don't live in Alaska, but Canada Lynx do

[torn torrent]

Ah, yeah you're right, I forgot about Yukon and that would be a pretty great way to get the Canadian lynx as well if the do a Canadian artic map like a lot of people want

[lean needle]

bump

[lean needle]

bump

[lean needle]

bump

[lean needle]

bump

[little vessel]

Bump

[lean needle]

[lean needle]

I think I'm going to make a "How to improve Mississippi Acres" thread next. I will make sure to mention a potential Bobcat backfill in there as well.

[quiet lynx]

Beaver, Coyote, and skunks are all animals that are considered “nuisance” animals in Mississippi (they can be hunted and trapped without permits) they would be great additions to that thread

[lean needle]

Those are just a few examples of animals that I'm going to suggest adding to the map.

[brazen sparrow]

Bobcat and gators. It will be Mississippi empty Acres 🤣

[lean needle]

not if bobcats are only there in small numbers, and aren't in the same areas as gators.

[brazen sparrow]

They should just lower the spook range for them and it would work so much better with them on the map's.

[lean needle]

there are also some species that bobcats spook currently that they really shouldn't, and that ought to be changed. Realistically no animal above class 4 should be bothered by a bobcat's presence, especially since bears (a much more threatening species) don't spook them currently.

I mean, you could maybe argue that class 6 species should be spooked by them too since Mule Deer are probably small enough to be Bobcat prey, but that's just being needlessly picky at that point.

[brazen sparrow]

I actually enjoy hunting the cat species but them spooking everything on the entire map makes me not like them being on any map.

[lean needle]

agreed, same here.

[tacit charm]

Or just make it so that way bobcats/lynx don’t spook anything over class 3.

[empty escarp]

https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1199632242620768287
Made a post about how you could improve Mississippi

[zealous canopy]

Spook cap: I know this sounds weird, I would consider having Bobcat capped for class 3 and Lynx for class 4 perhaps. 🤔

But then, again, if I had my way, they wouldn’t weigh the same ..

[tacit charm]

That…sounds really weird.

[lean needle]

bump