The Buckeye State is seeing another success story unfold with bobcats. The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a species that is native to Ohio, and one of seven wild cat species found in North America. …Once widespread in Ohio, the wild felines became locally extinct in the mid-1800s due to extensive deforestation and unregulated hunting. Beginning in the 1850s, occasional reports of bobcats surfaced, but prior to 2000, there were never more than five sightings confirmed by the ODNR in a given year, said Lindsey Krusling, a communications specialist with the Division of Wildlife. … In 2024, there were 777 sightings, according to the department’s most recent data. …Krusling attributed the bobcats’ rising population in Ohio to habitat restoration, as forested areas are currently expanding in the eastern United States. “Bobcats, they are very cryptic species, where they are mostly nocturnal, they don’t like to be seen, so they prefer those forested areas,” Krusling said.