State wildlife officials are reporting Ohio’s once-threatened bobcat population is making a comeback due to laws protecting the cats. Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources says residents report nearly 200 sightings of the animals each year.
Division of Wildlife spokesperson Jamey Emmert says the resurgence is good news for Ohio’s ecosystem because of the state’s lack of apex predators.
“The numbers (of predators and bobcats) are small in comparison to what they were when Ohio was a much more natural state. To have bobcats on the landscape is part of a natural and healthy ecosystem. They eat a lot of small animals that humans don’t want to have around like mice and other rodents.”
Emmert says bobcat activity is highest in Southeast Ohio.
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