Bobcat Run Over In Channahon Along Frontage Road: Report

CHANNAHON, IL — Authorities have determined that the dead wild animal discovered in the middle of the frontage road near Channahon on Sunday morning was that of a bobcat, according to Joliet's news radio station, AM-1340 WJOL.

The radio station reported that Matt Karnas was driving to his company, T&M Welding and Fabrication in Channahon and he captured photos of the dead bobcat, which was later removed from the road by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources website: The adult bobcat has a head-body length of 25 to 35 inches and its tail is about 5 inches long.

The DNR noted that bobcats may be found statewide in Illinois, and they live in wooded bluffs, rolling hills with open fields, brushy ravines or bottomland forests.

"The bobcat is a carnivore that eats cottontails, squirrels, mice and birds. It may eat carrion if other food is not available. It has very acute eyesight and hearing. The bobcat is a good climber. It is mostly nocturnal and solitary. It can hiss, growl, snarl or scream," the DNR stated.

Another website, Bobcats in Illinois, pointed out that the American bobcat is the only native wild cat in Illinois, was once listed as a threatened species, but that designation was removed in 1999. It is estimated that there are as many as 5,000 bobcats across Illinois.

According to Bobcats in Illinois, predators of the bobcat include owls, eagles, coyotes, foxes and other male bobcats, which prey on kittens. Diseases, accidents, hunting, automobiles and starvation also contribute to their loss of life.

The Channahon incident is unrelated to the sighting of an African serval cat in Decatur.