What Ohio lost, and what came back: 200 years of wildlife

In 1788, Ohio was 95% forest. By 1940 it was 12%, and deer, turkey, bears, bobcats, beaver and elk were gone. The woods grew back, and the animals followed: 168 deer in 1943 and 261,260 in 2009; 1 bobcat sighting in 1971 and 777 in 2024; 4 eagle pairs in 1979 and 964 nests in 2025. Some didn't come back: bobwhite is down 99%, 90% of the wetlands are gone, and emerald ash borer reached every county. Seen a bobcat or a bear near you? Tell us in the comments.

Data: ODNR Division of Wildlife; USFWS; USGS Breeding Bird Survey; USDA Forest Service FIA; USDA APHIS; Dahl 1990. Photos via iNaturalist (credits on screen; CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC0). Video: USFWS NCTC (public domain), Bryon Evans (CC BY 3.0), filmed outside Ohio.