Endangered Canada lynx spotted in Rutland County

The Canada lynx, a rare wild cat, has been reported in Vermont for the first time in six years,  according to a press release from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department .

The lynx was seen walking along a road in Rutland County on Aug. 17 and was recorded on video by several residents, said Brehan Furfey, a wildlife biologist with the department, in the Wednesday press release.

Canada lynx are endangered in Vermont and threatened — meaning likely to become endangered — in the United States.

Their endangered status has made lynx rare to spot in Vermont, Furfey said. Between 2016 and 2018, the state department recorded only seven confirmed reports of the species. The most recent credible report came from Jericho in 2018, according to the press release.

Lynx are similar to bobcats in size and appearance, according to the press release, and are often mistaken for each other. But lynx have distinguished black tail tips and light-colored heels, in contrast to bobcats’ white and black banded tail tips and black heels.

Canada lynx can be found across most of Canada and Alaska and parts of the northern United States, according to a report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . Populations persist in areas with deep snow and large tracts of dense forest, including in northern areas of Maine, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Montana and Washington. But timber harvest and recreational land use have led to habitat loss for lynx across the country, according to the federal department.

Vermont is on the southernmost edge of the lynx’s range, according to the press release. Most confirmed sightings have been in the Northeast Kingdom, which has the best climate, habitat and food sources for lynx in the state.

Furfey is the project leader for Vermont’s furbearer conservation and management project, which seeks to protect seventeen mammal species — including lynx — that have historically been hunted for their fur, according to a 2022 project report .

The project manages furbearer populations by conserving habitat, minimizing the impacts of human development on wildlife, and running regulated trapping and tracking programs. Overall, “the future presence of lynx in Vermont will depend on maintaining habitat connectivity between Vermont, New Hampshire, and Canada and mitigating the effects of climate change,” according to the report.

Rutland County is not a suitable habitat for lynx, mainly because the species’ main food source, snowshoe hare, do not appear in large numbers in the area, according to the press release. Instead, Furfey said, the reported lynx was likely just passing through the area while looking for a place to establish its own territory.

“Although this lynx appears to be on the thinner side, its calm behavior around passing cars as reported by observers is not unusual for a dispersing individual,” Furfey said in the press release. “This lynx was probably just focused on finding food in an area where hares are not abundant and on avoiding competition with bobcats and fishers while passing through southern Vermont.”

Furfey said that if Vermonters think they have found a lynx, they should take as many photos and videos as they can and send them to the state Fish and Wildlife Department.

“The large majority of photographs our biologists receive are bobcats, but that doesn’t exclude the possibility that a Canada lynx will show up one day,” she said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Endangered Canada lynx spotted in Rutland County .