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Bobcat Kittens Could Signal Comeback on Jekyll Island

Bobcat
Posted at 1:59 PM, Feb 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-22 13:59:00-05

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Two bobcat kittens spotted recently on Jekyll Island could be an early sign the elusive predators are making a comeback on the coastal state park after vanishing roughly a century ago.

Conservation Manager Ben Carswell of the Jekyll Island Authority said Wednesday that motion-activated cameras used to monitor wildlife captured images in late December of a bobcat mother and one kitten. More images taken soon after confirmed two young bobcats.

The discovery came two years after Jekyll Island staff recorded a lone bobcat. Carswell says that was the first evidence of the species on the island since the early 1900s.

A bobcat population could have ecological benefits for Jekyll Island, which has few predators and an abundance of deer. Some fear the deer may be overfeeding on the island's plants.

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