# Southern Ohio Bobcat



## Pure river (Sep 12, 2005)

A friend of a friend captured this pic on his proptery in Southern Ohio. 

I thought this was really cool!!! Thats a great cat!!!!

PR


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## WallyGator (Jun 12, 2006)

Very Cool...


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

That is a cool pic! There is nothing to reference that I can tell to see how big it really is. Any guesses?


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## Pure river (Sep 12, 2005)

from the looks of the trees in the back ground. 

I would say over 1.5 ft at the shoulders and all of 2ft long..and that is estimating very small on the length. 

Ive seen dead bobcats from friends kills in texas and this guy blows them away. 

Look how big his head, neck and shoulder are. 

simply a beautiful animal!!

pr


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## Pure river (Sep 12, 2005)

I was just doing some random image searches and I would bet he would look like this guy!..I dont know a lot about them but it looks like they really varry in size from region to reigion. 
My wife wants to shoot one and a cougar as well and have them mounted laying on tree limbs and put them in our house when we build it. Ya gotta love her!!!


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## BigChessie (Mar 12, 2005)

Very cool pic! I have a cat running around on my Ross county farm. Always finding "leftover" turkeys all over the place. lol


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## Pure river (Sep 12, 2005)

I bet they are death on turkeys!!!! I am sure as most cats they dont take more than they need, and probably good at taking the weak and old. The circle of life  haaaaaa.

PR


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## bronzebackyac (Apr 19, 2005)

Funny you said that Spencer, I have found feathers like that out at my uncles land on Lower Twin. I think that is right around the corner from you. I never thought about it being a cat. That one in the pic is a hoss.


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## smittyou812s (Jul 10, 2006)

Thats a nice size bobcat! Actually big bobcat! I hunted years ago in WV and they released mountain lions there! I only saw photos at the gas station ,but I did step in some very big poop from time to time!( NOT BEAR EITHER). I was 14 then and walking up a mountain in the dark ( by myself) ( by choice) with a bow in pines waist high! I was always waiting for that roar. Many times things ran off and I almost soiled my shorts! Thats hunting though!


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## fishingredhawk (Apr 14, 2004)

That's really cool. Are they pretty rare in Southern Ohio?


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## fishingredhawk (Apr 14, 2004)

It looks like they are very rare in Ohio. Below is from the ODNR website:

The bobcat is a species that is native to Ohio, and one of seven feral cat species found in North America. Domestic cats belong to the same family, Felidae, as the bobcat. The bobcat has a small face with a short nose, small round ears and claws that retract--characteristics of all cats wild and domestic. However, the bobcat has only three upper jaw teeth behind its canine teeth; domestic house cats have four.

Bobcats are very rarely seen in Ohio as they were extirpated from the state in 1850. Prior to settlement, they were common throughout Ohio. This cat has been sighted occasionally since 1850 and may be on the verge of returning "home" to Ohio; between 1970 and 1995 there have been 15 verified reports of bobcats in the state, but nine of these reports have occurred since 1990.

As with any species of wildlife, survival is a daily challenge. When they are young, bobcats may be preyed upon by foxes, owls, coyotes, mountain lions, and adult male bobcats. Under the best circumstances, a bobcat can live as long as 12 years in the wild. The average life span, however, is much shorter.


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## bronzebackyac (Apr 19, 2005)

Bobcats In Ohio

Imagine driving down an Ohio country road on a snowy winter night. Suddenly, a large cat with a curiously short tail and distinctive ear tufts appears in the shadows along the road, then darts into the woods. What was it? 
You may have just been fortunate enough to see one of the rarest of Ohio's wildlife, the bobcat. But because it is so rare, there are many misconceptions about this will-o-the-wisp cat named "Bob." 

A recent Ohio survey found that some people believe the bobcat to be an animal the size of a mountain lion (about 120 pounds), while a few folks even elevated it to the size of an African lion! 

It's easy to understand these misconceptions. Bobcats are endangered in Ohio, and there is little opportunity for Ohioans to become acquainted with this cocker spaniel-sized member of the cat family. For those who have never seen a bobcat, they weigh between 10 and 30 pounds, are about the length of a yard-stick, and stand about 15 inches high at the shoulder. They have a stubby five-inch tail, large tufted ears, a broad short head, and a yellowish-to-reddish-brown coat, spotted with black. Obviously, the average bobcat is much closer in size to "Fluffy" the house cat than to "Leo" the lion. 

Bobcats are widespread in North America and range from southern Canada well into Mexico. During settlement times they occurred throughout Ohio. By 1850, human settlement, accompanied by the clearing of forests and the draining of swamps for agriculture, rendered the bobcat a rarity in Ohio. The bobcat also Continued on next page suffered the same fate in neighboring Indiana, Illinois, southern Michigan, and western Pennsylvania. The bobcat is presently on the Ohio Endangered Species List and is given full protection under Ohio wildlife laws. 

Birds and small mammals, especially rabbits, squirrels, and mice, are the bobcat's standard table fare. Bobcats are mainly active at night, traveling (usually alone) three to seven miles while hunting. Their home ranges are large, generally 10 square miles or more. Bobcats favor areas with thick undergrowth and thrive in mixed forest and brush, broken by old-field openings, old roads, and some farm land. If such areas contain rock crevices for denning, all the better, although bobcats will also den under wind-fallen trees or in hollow logs. It is in the den where the one to four (average two) kittens are born in late April or early May. After about six to nine months with their mother, the young strike out on their own. 

Shaded areas indicate the location of verified Bobcat records, 1970-1996. It is very rare to see a bobcat in the wild in Ohio. Since 1970 there have been only 23 verified records of bobcats in the state. A verified record is one in which there is actual physical evidence that the observation was truly a bobcat, such as the animal being trapped or accidentally hit and killed by a vehicle. All of these records are from Ohio's forested Hill Country which is consistent with bobcat habitat preferences. Fourteen of these 23 verified records have occurred since 1990. 

The fact that more than half of the verified Ohio bobcat sightings have occurred in the last seven years provides a flicker of hope that bobcats may be on the increase in the state. An increase in the bobcat population is welcomed. Bobcats were an integral part of the wildlife community found in Ohio for thousands of years, and the return of this native cat will help restore some of our state's former wildlife diversity. 

The Division of Wildlife has begun a project to determine the status and distribution of bobcats in Ohio. With the help of Ohio's wild turkey and archery deer hunters, the Division of Wildlife will monitor bobcats through observations made in the field. In states that have both bobcats and turkeys, it's not uncommon for bobcats to investigate the clucks, yelps, purrs, and whines that turkey hunters use to imitate and call wild turkeys. Similarly, archery deer hunters spend a lot of observation" time in their tree stands waiting for deer. By soliciting observations of bobcats from turkey and archery deer hunters, we hope to get a better handle on bobcat status and distribution. This will take time, but we think that the results will add substantially to our knowledge of bobcats in Ohio.


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