The Prodigal Lynx Returns : The story of how the Canada Lynx found its way back to the Rockies.

THE PRODIGAL LYNX RETURNS:

The Story of Lynx Canadensis and her return to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

by Robert Abbott

           February 3rd, 1999. This beautiful and majestic cat, although abundant in most mountainous areas of the Americas, was literally extinct in Rocky Mountains until a man named George Byrne looked at the beautiful blue eyes of the female Canada Lynx and said “Hey, you’re free.”1

              She and a few other elusive comrades of hers were brought down from the North eh! (Canada) as part of the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Lynx reintroduction and conservation program. Up until the early 2000’s The Rocky Mountain Front Range was nothing but a stranger to the Lynx. The last reported and considered somewhat legendary sighting in Colorado was in a patch of ski country near Vail, Colorado. In a suitable manner, the Lynx had been caught in an illegal trap by a poacher, to be harvested for the hide and it’s beautiful coat of fur. It is only fitting that such a symbolic last sighting occur, a representation that shows it was man’s greediness and lack of respect for nature that wiped the Rockies clean of any trace of Lynx.2      

              From its stubby tail to its elegantly tufted ears, Lynx Canadensis is a usually a little under 3 feet. Weighing in sometimes up to 25 pounds, they are a little over twice the size of a large house cat. This cat unlike most others has an abundance of nerves within its canine teeth that allow a supreme use of the teeth, making it easy to know more characteristics of their own bite/carry. The nerves detect heat, texture, density making the Lynx a small but volatile predator. Their love of the Snowshoe Hare is second to none, Lynx prove this by letting their existence teeter totter on the rise and fall of the population of the Hare. As if the Canada Lynx didn’t have enough problems with finding food in the Rockies, they also have had to and still have to worry about poachers.3

             Lynx Canadensis is not the first and probably won’t be the last animal that man has hunted and trapped into extinction in some regions and endangered in others. Ursus Arctos Horribilis, more commonly known as the Grizzly Bear, was hunted until extinction in the Rocky Mountains in the early 1900’s, a task easy to undertake when conservation is anything but a priority compared to the demand of the fur retail business at the time. Although we both agree that it is tragic they are extinct in Colorado, my longtime friend and soon to be Biology graduate Steven Bedia brought up a good point saying, “I’m perfectly fine with not running into a ferocious Grizzly out there, Brown Bears are enough for me.” 4

            The Canada Lynx will not fall along the wayside like we have allowed the majestic Grizzly Bear. One of the most promising pieces of evidence supporting that statement is a beautiful creature named YK00F10. She was found in the Chilkat region of the Yukon and transferred to Colorado as the 10th Canada Lynx caught and released in the U.S in the year 2000. She being the most productive of the early releases, gave birth to ten Colorado native kittens, helping to pave the way for the success that the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Lynx reintroduction program sees today. 5

            Many factors have been associated to the rise and fall of Lynx numbers, and few are solid enough to be considered science. Whether it is the fluctuation of the Snowshoe Hare population or the use of private land and construction, The lynx have had a rough ten years in Colorado but not without avail. The Lynx have taken well to the Spruce/fir habitat and find the lower slopes of the Southwest Rockies as well as the desert like plains within the western slope to be a fine home. According to research being done by biologists within the program, a few the experiment’s ten sighting areas where the animals are observed will now yield up to a 70 percent chance of seeing a Canada Lynx!! Something we can all be excited about. 6

             Although the first decade of the program has been a success, YK00F10 and her kittens are not out of the fire yet. She and her fellow reclusive felines must continue to thrive and reproduce with the help the C.D.O.W. before we can feel anywhere near comfortable about a self-sustaining Lynx population. 7       

                                                                                                      

               

              In closing I would like to remind everyone to stay aware and do your part in conserving the Rocky Mountain habitat and the wildlife within it. Every time you pay to hunt, fish, and visit a national park, you are playing a huge part in the conservation of wildlife and habitat, as well as the contribution of the acts themselves. Support your local D.O.W. by volunteering and finding out what you can do to help in your own backyard.

Citation for researched work:
#1-FIRST AND FOREMOST-All photos provided by Chris Lorenz of Dreamstime.com and his album "Playful Canada Lynx kittens.1.Glick, Daniel, and Amy Toensing. "Of Lynx and Men: Scenes from a Homecoming." National Geographic. 1 1 2006: 56-67. Print.2.Glick, Daniel, and Amy Toensing. "Of Lynx and Men: Scenes from a Homecoming." National Geographic. 1 1 2006: 56-67. Print.3.Carron Meaney; Gary P. Beauvais (September 2004). "Species Assessment for Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. Archived on September 26, 2007. Retrieved March 20134.Interview with Steve Bedia, conducted March 20135..Glick, Daniel, and Amy Toensing. "Of Lynx and Men: Scenes from a Homecoming." National Geographic. 1 1 2006: 56-67. Print.6. Information gathered from the 2011 annual mammal report dine by the colorado dow. However information in this book is subject to change at any time and no permission has been given to quote the author. The information above is gathered from many sources and compiled in my own words and in no way guarantees accuracy , this report was simply a way to cross check info.7.Glick, Daniel, and Amy Toensing. "Of Lynx and Men: Scenes from a Homecoming." National Geographic. 1 1 2006: 56-67. Print.