INDIANAPOLIS — It's official. Bobcats are back in Indiana.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says they've had Hoosiers in almost every Indiana county report a sighting.
Bobcats are more common in the southern and west-central portions of the state, like one sighting that was caught on camera in Sullivan County. A DNR study determined bobcats are capable of moving as far as 100 miles from where they were born.
According to DNR, bobcats have a short tail that is less than six inches long, reddish-brown or tan fur with a white belly and black marks inside their legs. Some of the animals may have spots throughout their coat. They also have white-backed black ears.
Bobcats typically weigh 15-30 pounds and are 30-50 inches in length.
The good news is conservation officers don't see many reports of bobcat attacks and there are easy ways to deter them from your yard.
"If you do see a bobcat hanging around, think about what might be bringing them in. So do you have a bird feeder up that might be drawing in mice or squirrels that then is maybe bringing in the bobcat? Maybe taking that down for a few weeks until the bobcat is gone," said Gerian Albers, a Furbearer Biologist with the Indiana DNR. "Or do you have particularly thick bushes that a lot of rabbits are hiding in, so maybe trimming some of those lower branches back."
If you spot a bobcat in Indiana, the Indiana DNR has a form to report it on its website.