Here’s a pretty good article on the difficulties faced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in evaluating the status of the Canada lynx . . .
Jim Zelenak has a long winter workload ahead of him.
He has to count a wildcat few people ever see, one that wanders with all the regularity of the Northern Lights, carrying so much legal and political baggage that it’s only now getting a five-year status review first assigned 15 years ago. Zelenak wants to know all we can know about the Canada lynx.
Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service started its formal five-year status review of the predator many people confuse with the more common bobcat. But lynx are bigger (18-20 pounds), more specialized (large paws ideal for hunting in snow) and considerably rarer than the more adaptable bobcat.
And the agency is looking to the public for any available lynx information, according to spokesman Ryan Moehring. That includes potential threats like habitat loss or disease, conservation actions that have improved lynx survival and observed changes in lynx populations. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 1.