State wildlife officials are reporting Ohio鈥檚 once-threatened bobcat population is making a comeback due to laws protecting the cats. Ohio鈥檚 Department of Natural Resources says residents report  of the animals each year.

Division of Wildlife spokesperson Jamey Emmert says the resurgence is good news for Ohio鈥檚 ecosystem, because of the state鈥檚 lack of apex predators.

鈥淭he numbers are small in comparison to what they were when Ohio was a much more natural state,鈥� Emmert says. 鈥淭o have bobcats on the landscape is part of a natural and healthy ecosystem. They eat a lot of small animals that humans don鈥檛 want to have around, like mice and other rodents.鈥�

According to , bobcats in Ohio 鈥減refer wooded areas, especially early successional habitats in the vicinity of reclaimed strip mined areas.鈥� Bobcats, which are up to three times as large as an average housecat, primarily hunt and eat birds and small mammals but can hunt deer as well.

Emmert says bobcat activity is highest in Southeast Ohio. The species was removed from Ohio鈥檚 list of threatened species in 2014.