DENVER – Scores of fierce-looking lynx roam the remote Colorado high country, 16 years after they were reintroduced to the state. But the elusive animals are rarely seen or photographed.
Now, state researchers have captured photos of lynx in the San Juan Mountains. Using cameras mounted in trees, researchers are studying where lynx live and how they are doing, said Eric Odell, manager of Colorado Parks and Wildlife..
Odell estimates 200 to 300 lynx live in Colorado. He hopes to get several years of data to track their range over time.
Some key questions about lynx and the monitoring program:
What are lynx?
Lynx are medium-size cats with delicately tufted ears, short tails and broad, kitten-like paws. They can be nearly 3 feet long and weigh as much as 30 pounds. Their big paws work like snowshoes, helping them walk across powdery snow, Odell said. They’re widespread in Canada and Alaska but scarcer in the 48 contiguous states, where they are protected as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. They primarily hunt snowshoe hares.
Where are they in Colorado?
Colorado began reintroducing lynx in 1999 after they disappeared from the state in the 1970s because of hunting, poisoning and development. The lynx were captured in Canada and Alaska and released in the San Juan Mountains.
The transplanted cats began having kittens by 2003, and Colorado-born lynx have been having kittens since.
They mostly live in forests above 9,000 feet.
Why not just count them?
Counting lynx is expensive and labor-intensive. Individual lynx aren’t distinguishable by appearance, so they have to be captured multiple times to document their status, Odell said. This study is also less invasive.
How much does this cost?
The first year of the study cost about $40,000, Odell said.