It is thought that the feline species which survive FIV infection possess gene sequences that direct cells to manufacture special enzymes. These enzymes appear to modify white blood cells sufficiently to prevent their destruction by the virus particles. Research to find a cure for human AIDS may lead to the development of a drug which acts on human white blood cells in a similar way. Coryi Foundation, Inc. is collaborating with the National Cancer Institute to help study these relationships in bobcats via the detailed analysis of blood samples obtained from bobcats. By collectively interpreting the biomedical and ecological data, we will obtain a vivid picture of population genetics and diseases traceable in time and space.
Bobcats are important regulators of rabbit, rodent and other prey populations.
As a keystone species, reduction in bobcat numbers can lead to prey population explosions and overforaging, increased competition for resources, and erosion of animal community stability. Some of these can be fatal. Retaining viable populations of bobcats can indeed prevent the spread of such diseases into the human population while maintaining animal community stability. Botanically diverse bobcat habitat of the eastern deciduous forest of temperate North America.