Study: Bobcats confirmed in Licking County
After having been routed out – or “extirpated” – from Ohio in the mid-18th century, bobcats have returned to the Buckeye State, and have now officially been confirmed to be in Licking County.
Several parks and other sites in Licking were recently monitored, including installation of trail cameras at four local parks which resulted in images captured of the bobcats (AKA, Lynx rufus).
Dr. Shauna L. Weyrauch of the Ohio State University at Newark recently completed a pilot study to assess the presence/absence of bobcats, red fox, gray fox, and coyote within Licking County. Richard Waugh, Director of the Licking Park District, said bobcats were of particular interest.
In a park district news release, it was stated, “little is known about their abundance and distribution within Licking County, which sits on the northwest edge of their range. Multiple parks managed by the Licking Park District were selected for observation using non-baited camera trapping stations set up along game trails.”
According to Weyrauch’s study, “The bobcat … is a medium-sized carnivore, and one of the few native cat species found throughout Ohio in pre-settlement times. By the mid-1800s, a combination of over-hunting, habitat loss, and a decline in their prey had eliminated the species from Ohio. Occasional sightings indicated the bobcat had returned to Ohio by the 1960s, and in 1974, the species was listed as endangered in Ohio.”
Weyrauch wrote in her study, “We have been conducting a longterm…study of bobcats in Coshocton and southern Holmes counties since 2015. In the spring/summer of 2020, we sought to conduct a preliminary survey of several parks in Licking County to assess the distribution of bobcats in particular, and carnivores more generally, in this county.”
The Licking County parks chosen were Infirmary Mound Park, Taft Reserve
North, Lobdell Reserve and Reese Wildlife Reserve.
Other parks/reserves that were surveyed as part of this study include Dawes Arboretum, Denison University Biological Reserve, Morris Woods and Blackhand Gorge, the study noted.
Results revealed bobcat sightings at two locations, Taft Reserve North and Reese Wildlife Sanctuary, out of the eight parks/reserves surveyed.
“The absence of sightings at six of the monitored locations may indicate bobcats are still relatively rare in Licking County and/or that they avoid parks with a higher rate of recreational use,” the release states.
The release goes on to note, “Other predatory species observed included coyotes at multiple parks and red fox at Infirmary Mound Park. Gray fox were not photo captured at any site. It should
be emphasized that the presence of these species does not represent a danger to visitors to the parks.”
In a phone interview Jan. 20, Waugh said other non-predatory critters, including a flying squirrel, chipmunks, weasels, opossum, groundhogs, raccoons and “obviously, deer” were also recorded on trail cameras.
Waugh said since a news release regarding the study went out on Tuesday, he had been contacted by others who have confirmed sightings of bobcats in the area, including one from a person in Granville who had video of one of the cats.
While coyote have taken their toll on Licking County pets, Waugh said there isn’t evidence that bobcats necessarily pose the same level of risk to area dogs or cats.
Waugh said that bobcats, which are mostly nocturnal, “are skittish around people.”
Perhaps confirming that trait, Waugh, and Weyrauch in her study note the bobcats photographed in Licking County were done so in two very remote, little traveled parks.
“Reese Wildlife Reserve,” Waugh said, “is only accessible via permit. It’s way up by Wilkens Corner, so you’re really out in the country.”
According to the Park district news release, now that this pilot survey has confirmed the bobcat has moved westward from Coshocton into Licking County, “The hope is that this preliminary study will be followed by future surveys of bobcat occupancy in the coming years.”
The entire report can be viewed at: https://lickingparkdistrict.com/2020carnivore-study/#more-5567