scientists confirm bobcats in SE OH

[Emily]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/conten ... obcat.html

from the Dayton, OH Daily News

GERMANTOWN METROPARK

Bobcat prints confirmed; Where did it come from?

Naturalists have first evidence since 1850 that the elusive bobcat is prowling southwest Ohio.

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By Steve Bennish
Staff Writer
Thursday, December 20, 2007

GERMANTOWN — For the first time since the 19th century, naturalists have physical evidence that a wild bobcat is roaming southwestern Ohio.

Five Rivers MetroParks said that after two years of checking reports of bobcat sightings around Germantown MetroPark, it has confirmed that paw prints found on a muddy trail at the park in October are those of a bobcat.


The bobcat, an endangered species protected under state law, has been confirmed in deeply forested areas of eastern and southeastern Ohio.

Sightings have been reported in counties along the Ohio River, including Hamilton County, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It is illegal to hunt or trap the cats.

The nocturnal bobcat poses no threat to people and is so reclusive that it is rarely seen. In 1850, it is believed that the last wild Ohio bobcat was killed during a period of unregulated hunting and trapping and agricultural expansion that eliminated habitat. It has since returned to the state in small numbers.

No one knows how this bobcat migrated to the MetroPark. It would have had to cross major highways and cityscapes if traveling from the east.

It could have come from southern Indiana, which has a healthy bobcat population, MetroParks conservation biologist Michael Enright said.

Enright has been trying to confirm bobcat sightings from rural residents around the park for two years, using remote cameras and hair snares laced with catnip oil.

In October, naturalist Stanley Stine was doing field work for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History at the MetroPark when he spotted the paw prints on a muddy trail north of the park's nature center. He photographed the print and verified it in consultation with tracking experts.

"It was a surprise to me and was the last thing I expected to see," Stine said. "I purchased the camera only a month before. Everything came together at the right time and place."

Making a photographic image of the bobcat will be difficult, Enright said. Females can have a home range of 10 square miles, and males range from 15 to 20 square miles. Enright plans to give it a try in January or February, during the mating season.

Bobcats weigh up to 30 pounds and stand 24 inches tall. They eat a wide variety of insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds and mammals. Rabbits are a favorite meal.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7407 or sbennish@DaytonDailyNews.com.