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Canada lynx are made for hunting in deep snow, with thick cushions of hair on the soles of their feet that act like built-in snowshoes. Appropriately enough, this adaptation helps them stalk their favorite prey, the snowshoe hare — unlike any other cat, the Canada lynx relies almost exclusively on the snowshoe hare for food. But lynx aren’t only predators; they’ve also fallen prey to trapping, especially when wearing spotted cat fur became all the rage in the ’60s and ’70s. Today, Canada lynx are still caught in traps set for other species, and their habitat is fast disappearing.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE
PROTECTION STATUS: Threatened
YEAR PLACED ON LIST: 2000
CRITICAL HABITAT: Approximately 1,841 square miles in Minnesota, Montana, and Washington designated in 2006 (designation currently under reconsideration)
RECOVERY PLAN: None
RANGE: The forested portions of Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin (contiguous U.S. distinct population segment)
THREATS: Trapping; habitat destruction due to deforestation, fire suppression, and human intrusion; snowmobiling; and expansion of the range of competing predators such as bobcats and coyotes
POPULATION TREND: The Canada lynx’s complex life history and population dynamics — as well as a general lack of reliable data — make estimating the species’ population trend difficult, but it is known that the lynx occurs in drastically reduced numbers throughout its range. Populations are thought to have been in decline since the early 1900s.
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SAVING THE canada lynx
Although Canada lynx populations vary dramatically according to snowshoe hare abundance, it’s not hard to see that the species is in trouble — breeding Canada lynx have declined markedly in the United States. The species saw its first major declines early last century due to trapping, and while no longer targeted specifically in the United States, lynx are still very vulnerable to any trapping taking place within their range. Add to the equation the even bigger threat of widespread habitat destruction and humans’ increasing use of snowmobiles in remaining habitat, and it’s no wonder the beautiful cat hasn’t been able to bounce back.
As snows melted in the spring of 2000 — after one petition and two lawsuits were filed on the lynx’s behalf — it finally enjoyed a new chance for recovery as a species officially declared threatened under the Endangered Species Act. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to designate critical habitat until six years later, when it granted the lynx only about a tenth of the originally proposed area. The Service has also failed to issue a recovery plan.
Luckily, in February 2008 the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to revise the species’ critical habitat designation to include a substantially larger area — though the designation would still leave out habitat in Colorado, where a reintroduction program is in full swing. In March, thanks to a Center lawsuit, a judge ruled that Minnesota was in violation of the Endangered Species Act by allowing traps that harm and kill Canada lynx. The court ordered the state to take all action necessary to ensure that no more lynx are killed by traps within core lynx habitat.
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Contact: Noah Greenwald
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