Vt. Officials Confirm Canada Lynx

AP ^ | 20 Feb 2007 | AP

[FLOutdoorsman]

Officials have confirmed the presence of a Canada lynx in Vermont for the first time in nearly 40 years. Wildlife biologists from Vermont and New Hampshire identified a set of lynx tracks in a state wildlife management area in Victory on Feb. 7. The Canada lynx is native to Vermont, but the population has always been small.

The last time a lynx was spotted in Vermont was in 1968.

"It is great to see this once-native species again in Vermont," said Paul Hamelin, a state wildlife biologist in St. Johnsbury. "There have been a few unconfirmed reports of lynx in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom in recent years, and we know they occur in Canada as well as in New Hampshire and Maine, so it wasn't a big surprise to find the tracks of this animal."

The Canada lynx is related the bobcat but has larger ear tufts and facial ruffs on its cheeks. Lynx also have longer legs and larger, heavily furred feet which makes it easier for them to travel on snow.

The lynx is endangered in Vermont, and is federally listed as a threatened species.

Killing one is punishable by six months in jail and a $25,000 fine.

Vermont's lynx population dropped by the mid-1800s, when only a quarter of the state was covered by forest, according to historic accounts.

Lynx prey on snow shoe hare, which can be found among young, low-growing spruce, balsam fir and cedar. That habitat limits how many lynx Vermont can support.

"We can't expect Canada lynx to be abundant in Vermont, because the amount of suitable habitat is very limited as much of our forest is now growing older and less suitable for snowshoe hare as well as lynx," Hamelin said.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Do those go better with scrambled eggs or fried potatoes ?

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Darn Canadians! Where's our secure borders!

[chadwimc]

I know for a fact that they taste better than spotted owl...

[Right Wing Assault]

Sure sign of global warming when those northern animals show up in the south. No, wait a minute...

[billorites]

Hi guys!

[mware]

They sure are cute a young ones.

[proudofthesouth]

I would much rather have animals crossing our borders than human illegals.

[Rannug]

I have talked to game wardens about mountain lions I have seen here in NE Ohio. The gw's strongly deny even the possibility of the mountains lions existence here. I really do not know what the big deal is with the gw's. I guess that if I shot a mountain lion, I could not be arrested because they do not exist here. s/off

[hellbender]

I know a very knowledgeable wildlife expert who saw a lynx in northern NH several years ago. He also thinks there have been mt. lions there recently.

[kanawa]

As I silently glided in to the beginning of a portage last summer, with my dog asleep in the bottom of the canoe,
I was taken aback as a pair of feline ears appeared above a shoreline rock only yards away.
My first thought, a silly one, was, what's a cat doing way out here?
As the head continued to rise from the rock's cover,
I was quickly disabused of the idea that this was an common house cat, it was much too large.
For a few magical seconds the lynx stood there looking at me with something white in its mouth.
I had no time to even think of grabbing my camera or alerting my dog
before the lynx decided it had seen enough of me and disappeared into the woods.
While I didn't get a photo, the encounter remains a memory that I will treasure for ever.

[hellbender]

"I would much rather have animals crossing our borders than human illegals."

Except that a lot of our trees are seriously endangered by alien bugs, some of which apparently arrived in wooden pallets & crates from Asia. Globalism strikes again.

[BuffaloJack]

I once stumbled across a Canada Lynx whil in the woods in South-Western New York near the Pennsylvania border. It had 2 young with it and when I came upon them the hiss that the mother gave out nearly made me swallow my heart. I know it was a Canada Lynx because I reported it to the local game warden and he check it out and verified it. These are really beautiful animals in the wild. They were smaller than I expected them to be.

[Pentagon Leatherneck]

They're just eating the hares that Americans don't want to eat...

TC

[jws3sticks]

[lafroste]

You've seen mountain lions in NE Ohio? That is close to where I grew up (NW Pa), and I grew up in a very rural and wild area. I wonder if mountain lions have moved into the Allegheny National forest.