Bobcat Kittens Could Signal Comeback On Jekyll Island

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Captured here on a motion-activated camera, officials at the Jekyll Island Authority have confirmed that at least four bobcats are living on the island.

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.