Rare Lynx Sightings Put Carnivores and Wildlands in the Spotlight

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One of North America’s most elusive predators has grabbed the Vermont spotlight this autumn. A Canada lynx was sighted in August in Rutland County and has been spotted multiple times since in its journey north. Just seven sightings of the state-endangered and nationally threatened wildcat have been confirmed in Vermont, mostly in the Northeast Kingdom, since 2016. Northern New England forms the southern periphery of the lynx’s range, most of which spreads across Canada’s boreal forest.

According to Shelby Perry, Northeast Wilderness Trust’s (NEWT) Wildlands Ecology Director, the lynx in question was probably after love and land: “Like cougars and other wide-ranging carnivores, lynx will travel long distances in search of a home range and a mate. This lynx was likely on the move in search of a female and a place to settle down.”

The Canada Lynx in question photographed in Vermont’s Addison County during dispersal. Courtesy of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.

The sightings offer hope that Vermont’s connected conservation lands are facilitating both movement across the landscape and the colonization of new territories by this species (and others), though there is no guarantee the likely bachelor will ultimately stay put. Projects like Vermont Conservation Design, which was aided by NEWT’s input, and the Staying Connected Initiative are examples of the work being done to weave these lands together into a coherent whole that affords species room to thrive and shift their ranges as the climate warms.

Wildlands, an underrepresented piece of this whole, are critical to the Canada Lynx’s lifecycle. The felines, whose large paws and long hind legs are adapted for navigating deep snow, establish sprawling territories that can span anywhere from 750 to 12,000-plus acres. They need multilevel forests with thick understories in which to hunt their primary prey source, the snowshoe hare; to den and raise their young; and to evade predators, which traditionally were wolves and cougars.

Furthermore, wildlands shield lynx and other roving carnivores from one of the greatest dangers they face in the modern world: roads. An effort in the late 1980s to reintroduce the species to New York’s Adirondack Park, for example, ended in failure in part because 19 of the released lynx were killed by vehicle strikes once they dispersed into surrounding states in search of unclaimed territories. Perry added that lynx “generally avoid settling within a quarter mile of roads, which is part of why they are struggling in the Northeast these days.” Wilderness preserves, where motorized vehicles are prohibited and preexisting roads are blocked, help address this challenge.

Just as wildlands are critical to healthy lynx populations, healthy lynx populations and those of other large predators are critical to wildlands. Carnivores are one of the “three Cs,” along with “cores” and “corridors,” integral to rewilding. Lynx, bobcat, fisher, and other top predators exert downward pressure on ecosystems, helping to keep populations of other species in check and the overall ecosystem balanced. Experts contend that the elimination of these keystone species has upended ecosystems across North America—and the globe. Without them, the intricate fabric of natural communities frays.

Lynx also demonstrate the value of an eclectic land-use model. Snowshoe hare numbers, on which lynx populations are overwhelmingly dependent, are sometimes higher in the younger, regenerating forests created by selective timber harvesting practices that leave the forest canopy and understory largely intact. The Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands, and Communities (WWF&C) collective of which NEWT is a part advocates for conservation design that supports this kind of habitat diversity. The effort aims to create a connected, varied New England landscape for the benefit of lynx and other wildlife, with the hope that individuals like this season’s star male, with his tufted ears and wondrous feet, continue to flourish and inspire reverence for wild nature.

Photography by ©Susan C. Morse.