The Buckeye state of Ohio is staging a wildlife comeback with Coyotes, Black Bears and Bobcats increasingly calling the state home.............Since 1970, 86 of Ohio's 88 counties have had verified Bobcat sightings with 2013 marking 4 consecutive years of 200 of the cats being seen................Ohio, once known as the "old Northwest during the French and Indian War(1756-63) and at that time a cornucopia of Wolves, Pumas, Black Bears, fishers, Martens and perhaps even some Wolverines is now once again proving that if we provide habitat, and have some nearby source populations,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the expression "build it and they will come" becomes reality

 http://www.progressnewspaper.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5442:ohios-verified-bobcat-sightings-increase-to-200&catid=72:outdoor


VERIFIED BOCAT SIGHTINGS INCREASE IN OHIO

Wednesday, July 23, 2014 8:35 AM

ODNR Division of Wildlife biologists verified 200 bobcat  sightings in Ohio in 2013. This is the fourth consecutive  year more than 100 verified sightings were recognized  in Ohio, and the first time sightings increased to 200. • Of the 200 verified sightings, 113 were recognized  from photographs or videos. Additional sightings  were verified through road kills, incidentally trapped  animals (then released) and sightings by qualified  personnel. • Noble County continues to have the most verified  sightings, with 32. An additional 106 sightings were  confirmed in the counties immediately surrounding  Noble (Guernsey, Belmont, Monroe, Washington,  Morgan, and Muskingum). • Bobcats were confirmed in 36 counties during  2013, and have been verified in 49 counties since  1970. • The division collected an additional 226 unverified  bobcat sightings in 2013. Most unverified sightings  were reported through species observation cards.  Unverified sightings have occurred in 86 of Ohio’s  88 counties since 1970. • Bobcats once roamed across Ohio, but they were  extirpated around 1850 as more people settled within  the state. A handful of unverified bobcat sightings in  the 1960s announced the return of the species. • The bobcat was recently removed from the Ohio  Endangered and Threatened Species List, but it  remains protected in the state.