Canada lynx gives birth in Maine

A Canada lynx has given birth to male, left, and female kittens in northwestern Maine, confirming the presence of the cats in the state

June 29, 1999
Web posted at: 12:22 p.m. EDT (1622 GMT)

The discovery of Canada lynx kittens in Maine on June 18 is evidence that the animals do exist and reproduce in the state, federal biologists announced Monday.

"We can now say, without question, that there is a lynx population in Maine and not just an occasional animal passing through from Canada," said Dr. John Organ, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

This discovery adds to the biological evidence on the status of cat that the agency is reviewing as it considers listing the Canada lynx as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. A decision is expected in January 2000.

Organ and a team of federal biologists began a study this past winter to learn more about the status of Maine's lynx populations and to determine what management actions, if any, are needed to conserve the species.

The biologists captured a female lynx in a trap in northwestern Maine in March, fitted her with a radio collar and released her back into the wild. She was observed later in March traveling on a logging road with two smaller lynx. The biologists said the two were probably offspring from the previous year.

At the end of May, the cat's movements stopped. According to what is known about the lynx, the biologists suspected she had established a den to give birth to a litter of kittens. After allowing the cat three weeks to settle, the biologists went to the den site to confirm that she had given birth. They found two kittens, one male and one female.

The den site is a young forest that appears to have been logged 10 to 15 years ago. The dense re-growth of young trees combined with larger uprooted trees provides a tangle of vegetation to hide newborn lynx kittens.

"The forest that we found the animals denning in was young forest with lots of under story, lots of blow down, lots of cover," said Organ.

While this is just one sighting of one animal, the discovery is evidence that the animals can survive in a young forest habitat, said Organ. Some environmentalists have argued that the cats need old-growth forests for their survival.

"We don't have old-growth forests in Maine," said Organ. "Perhaps it is the structural diversity that may be a factor."

The cats, which have large feet that act like snow shoes, allowing them to hunt in deep snow, feed primarily on snowshoe hare, a large rabbit found in young forests.

Lee Perry, commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Ronald Lambertson, Northeast regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, agree that the managed cutting of timber in northern Maine has created ideal conditions for snowshoe hare and, therefore, likely for lynx as well.

Lynx were historically found throughout much of Canada, the northern forests of the U.S. and the subalpine forests of the central and southern Rocky Mountains. The service has proposed listing the lynx as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 16 of the lower 48 states, because of a decline in population numbers and a reduction in the amount of suitable habitat occupied by the animals.

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