Lynx

2023 - 3 - 1

Glacier National Park could provide climate haven for Canada Lynx (Science Daily)

Glacier National Park is home to around 50 Canada lynx, more than expected, surprising scientists who recently conducted the first parkwide occupancy survey ...

"The methodological contribution of this study is really important in the sense that it gives us a better way to get at the number of individual lynx, which is really important for understanding recovery and how a population is doing," Thornton said. Moving forward, the researchers hope the survey can serve as a baseline population estimate to help their collaborators with the National Park Service keep tabs on the numbers of Canada lynx in Glacier. "Glacier is sort of unique in the sense that it is a difficult place to survey in the wintertime. They then combined the results of the park-wide occupancy survey with their density analysis to extrapolate an overall population estimate for Glacier of about 1.28 lynx per 100 square kilometers of terrain. "Lynx have pretty subtle markings compared to other cats and only on the inside of their front legs," Anderson said. "Our results suggest the park could provide a much-needed climate refuge for the cats in the future."

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Image courtesy of "Vail Daily News"

Bobcat or lynx? Here's how you can tell (Vail Daily News)

Since January there have been three photos of bobcats on the front page of the Vail Daily. Photos by Emily Kent, me, and Carole Schragen.

Bobcats have shorter hair and the hair is redder. For some great photos to help out, do a Google search for Canada Lynx and click on the “images” tab. Lynx have much larger feet compared to the bobcat and look out of proportion to their body. Two in North America, the Canada lynx and the bobcat. The reality is that both lynx and bobcats have ear tufts. The lynx tend to live in coniferous forests, like what is on Vail Pass, and rely almost entirely on snowshoe hares for prey.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Hundreds of lynx to be hunted in Sweden following biggest ever wolf ... (The Guardian)

Conservationists condemn latest cull as 'trophy hunting', while hunters admit it is 'about the excitement'

It is “strongly questionable” that either of these conditions applies to lynx in Sweden, said Benny Gäfwert, a predator expert at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Henrik Falk, an adviser to the association, told the Guardian: “The hunt is absolutely not linked to any danger to humans. Historically, lynx have ranged across Eurasia but have come under intense pressure in many countries from habitat loss, inbreeding, poaching and traffic collisions. The Swedish hunters’ association, Svenska Jägareförbundet, admits the lynx do not pose a danger to humans. “Hundreds of foreign hunters come to Sweden for lynx hunting because they think it is exciting.” Tests on the remaining cats in France show that their genetic diversity is so low they will become locally extinct within the next 30 years without intervention.

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