OUTDOORS Bobcat reports confirmed

The ODNR verified 10 reports of bobcats in Ohio in 2003.
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
Evidence of bobcats living in Ohio's eastern and southeastern counties continues with state wildlife officials recording 10 verified reports during 2003, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
The bobcat was found throughout Ohio during early settlement, but as land was converted for crops and communities its population declined.
By 1850, the animal could no longer be found in the state. A handful of unverified sightings in the 1960s marked the bobcat's unofficial return to Ohio. Since 1970, state wildlife biologists have documented 70 verified bobcat sightings from 31 counties.
Began monitoring
In 1997, the Division of Wildlife began monitoring the presence of bobcats in Ohio, using a combination of field surveys and follow-up investigations of sightings. These efforts have been supported by the Wildlife Diversity and Endangered Species fund, which receives donations from Ohioans through the state income tax check-off program and by the purchase of cardinal license plates.
Verification of the elusive bobcat includes photographs of the animal and its tracks; bobcats encountered through incidental trapping; recovered road kill and sightings by division personnel. All of the 2003 reports occurred in the following counties: Washington, Harrison, Muskingum, Athens, Mahoning, Noble, Vinton and Jackson. ODNR also received 32 unverified bobcat reports last year.
Protected by law
As a state endangered species, the bobcat is protected by state law. For more about Ohio's wildlife diversity, visit the division's web page at ohiodnr.com.
In Mahoning County, A 35-pound bobcat was caught in November 2003 by a farmer in Ellsworth Township and was released back into the wild.
The bobcat was trapped on the 11280 Palmyra Road farm of Don Schrock after it attacked and killed an 80-pound goat.
Dave Brown, the state's game protector for Mahoning County, said it was the first bobcat confirmed sighted or trapped in Northeast Ohio in more than 20 years.
May have been pet
Brown said that someone may once have kept the bobcat as a pet. He said the animal didn't appear to have any claws.
Brown said that there have been unconfirmed reports of bobcats and mountain lions in Northeast Ohio for a number of years.