Bobcat caught on camera on July 13, 2017.
The Columbus Dispatch quoted Dr. Viorel Popescu, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Ohio University, in a March 12 story headlined “Ohio proposal for a limited bobcat season pits trappers vs. conservationists.”
“We want to know how many bobcats are there. We’re trying to put it all together like a big puzzle,” said Viorel Popescu, the lead researcher and an assistant professor of conservation biology at Ohio University. “It’s literally like herding cats.
The study, set for June and July, will use specially trained dogs to sniff out bobcat scat in southern and eastern Ohio. Popescu said studying any carcasses harvested during a potential trapping season is not currently part of the project’s agreed scope.
He hopes the study will help inform debates over whether bobcat populations are healthy enough to harvest sustainably.
“I would love to have a solid answer, but it’s a tough question,” Popescu said. “It’s just as much about what society wants.”
Comments