State wildlife officials are confirming that bobcats are back in southern Ohio after a long absence.
"We're getting a lot of bobcats sightings on hunters' trail cameras when they're scouting for deer," said Jimmy Carnes, with the Ohio Division of Natural Resources.
He said many of the sightings are occurring in Highland County.
Carnes urges sportsmen to send any recent pictures of bobcats caught on their cameras to ODNR as wildlife officers use them as a tool to track the state's bobcat population.
Additionally, Carnes said ODNR is getting more reports of black bears in the area, which quite common. He said while many of these bears are coming from other states, ODNR believes it is possible a bear sow might be having cubs in southeastern Ohio, making it easier for the bears to migrate here.