Live-trapping bobcats began in the winter of 1999 in south-central Indiana, the area where the majority of the bobcat sightings occurred.

Capturing bobcats for the study is challenging, but not impossible. Learning from other states engaged in bobcat studies, Johnson learned some tricks of the trade for attracting bobcats.

First, the traps are placed in areas where bobcats have been sighted and in habitat attractive to them. In Indiana, bobcats are found in a mix of second growth woods and brushy fields. After the first trapping season, traps were also placed in habitats similar to those where bobcats were captured the previous year.

Bobcats, like domestic cats, scent their territory and use scent for communication. To entice them closer to the trap, which is covered with twigs, boughs and grasses, Johnson sprays bobcat urine on the surrounding ground. A bobcat will investigate the smell. As it moves closer, its interest is also caught by the movement of a duck wing hanging in a nearby tree.

Visual, as well as aural hunters, the bobcat is intrigued by the wing's motion and moves even closer to the camouflaged trap. The final inducement to enter the trap is a free meal. Bobcats eat rabbits and small- to medium-sized rodents such as mice, rats, squirrels and chipmunks. Each trap is equipped with either a road kill rabbit or squirrel. When the bobcat takes the prey, it becomes part of the study.