500 Illinois hunters will literally get a shot this year at bobcats roaming the state. For the first time in four decades, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has opened applications to hunt and trap bobcats. IDNR spokesman Tim Schweizer says those lucky enough to receive a permit can hunt and trap bobcats in early November;



Schweizer says the return of hunting bobcats in the state represents a "conservation success story." IDNR estimates as many as five-thousand of the predators now roam Illinois.