Bobcats, wolves and cougars were driven from Ohio in the 19th Century but Ohio bobcats appear to be making a return to parts of the state.
According to MSN at least one family of Ohio bobcats is being tracked by biologists as they try to make a return to an old home. According to WDTN Dayton the cats have been seen off-and-on since the 1960’s. But the numbers seem to be increasing.
Ohio bobcats were driven out by hunting and changing land use which eliminated favored denning areas. But it appears that they adaptable felines have found a way to use alternate denning locales. They seem to be expanding their range the state into once bobcat-free areas.
Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are one of the four members of the lynx family. The others are Canada lnyx (Lynx canadensis), Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) and the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx). They are not considered at risk for extinction. Bobcats are listed as least concern by the IUCN. The cats are roughly twice the size of housecats. The stub-tailed predators have a wide prey base. Although it is based on rabbits and rodents it can include insects and sometimes even deer, especially fawns.
That is not to say the cats do not face challenges. In the Santa Monica Mountains the National Park Service (NPS) estimates there are about 400 of the cats. They face death from traffic and from mange due to pesticide use.
Although the cats can and do eat snakes they are apparently not a good match for Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus). It is estimated the bobcat population in the Florida Everglades is down 87.5 percent primarily due to python predation. At least one bobcat was seen feasting on python eggs, so they do sometimes turn the tables.
As a species the numbers are uncertain but some estimates place the number wild bobcats in the United States at around one million. The Iberian lynx is the most severely threatened but intense rescue efforts may be saving them.