Lynx Lessons

Early on a September morning in 2017, nature photographer Tim Newton saw what he thought were stray cats on the deck of his home in Anchorage, Alaska. He nearly shooed them off, but something stopped him. The cats had black tufts sticking up from their ears. 

“I thought, ‘Well, that’s maybe not a domestic cat,’ ” recalls Newton. He was right—they were young lynxes.

It was an early September morning in 2017. Tim Newton thought he saw stray cats on his deck. Newton is a nature photographer. He lives in Anchorage, Alaska. Newton nearly made the cats leave. But something stopped him. The cats had black tufts sticking up from their ears.

“I thought, ‘Well, that’s maybe not a domestic cat,’ ” Newton says. He was right. The cats were young lynxes.

Newton is just one of many Alaska residents who have been spotting lynxes in recent years. Lynxes are medium-sized wildcats that live in the forests of Alaska and Canada, as well as some of the lower 48 states. They are known for their tufted ears and their appetite for snowshoe hares.

People might be seeing more lynxes now because the wildcats are on the move looking for their next meal. Right now, lynx populations are high, says Knut Kielland. He’s an ecologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Many people in Alaska have spotted lynxes in recent years. Lynxes are medium-sized wildcats. They live in the forests of Alaska and Canada. Lynxes also live in some of the lower 48 states of the U.S. Lynxes have tufted ears. They eat snowshoe hares.

People might see more lynxes now because the wildcats are moving around. They are searching for their next meal. Knut Kielland says lynx populations are high right now. Kielland is an ecologist. He works at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

Kielland is also the lead scientist of the Northwest Boreal Lynx Project. This collaboration between the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been tracking the movement of lynx populations.

Kielland is also the lead scientist of the Northwest Boreal Lynx Project. The project is a collaboration between the University of Alaska, Fairbanks; the National Park Service; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The project tracks the movement of lynx populations.

Scientists like Kielland have discovered that lynxes sometimes go on long, one-way journeys across hundreds of miles. These journeys are called dispersals. The big question is: Why do lynxes make these treks in the first place?

Kielland and his colleagues hope that their tracking data will help them figure that out. Since 2015, the researchers have trapped and outfitted lynxes with GPS collars that record their locations as they roam. Every four hours, the collars send out data about the lynxes’ locations. Kielland and his colleagues have collared about 170 lynxes since the start of the project.

Scientists like Kielland have discovered that lynxes sometimes go on long journeys. The wild cats travel to faraway places without coming back. These journeys can be hundreds of miles long. The journeys are called dispersals. But why do lynxes make these journeys?

Kielland and his colleagues hope that their tracking data will help them figure that out. The researchers have trapped lynxes since 2015. They attach GPS collars to the lynxes they catch. The collars record the lynxes’ movements. The collars send out data about the lynxes’ location every four hours. Kielland and his colleagues have collared about 170 lynxes since the start of the project.

Kielland's project has shown that each lynx’s movement is different. Some stick around their home range. Other lynxes go exploring—as Kielland calls it—and then return home. Lastly, some lynxes undertake dispersals, moving to a faraway area for good.

Lynxes do not migrate seasonally, meaning they don’t stay in one place for the summer and another place in the winter. Instead, a far-traveling lynx goes somewhere new and never comes back.

Kielland's project has shown that each lynx’s movement is different. Some stay close to home. Other lynxes go exploring and then return home. Some lynxes go on dispersals. They move to a faraway area and stay there.

Lynxes do not migrate seasonally. That means they do not stay in one place for the summer and another place in the winter. A lynx that travels a long distance goes somewhere new and never comes back.

Dispersals are more common than researchers knew. “Lots of lynx do this, and they’re going really long distances,” says Kielland. For example, a collared lynx nicknamed Hobo traveled
2,174 miles over a year and a half (see map, page 11).

Yet scientists aren’t exactly sure why lynxes make these epic journeys. The main hypothesis is that lynxes disperse when food is scarce. But hunting is unlikely to explain everything about lynx movements.

Dispersals are more common than researchers knew. “Lots of lynx do this. They’re going really long distances,” says Kielland. Scientists put a GPS collar on a lynx they nicknamed Hobo. Hobo traveled 2,174 miles over a year and a half (see On the Move, page 11).

Scientists do not know why lynxes make these long journeys. They think that lynxes might disperse when food is hard to find. But hunting does not explain everything about lynx movements.

“It’s still unclear to me why they would end up moving so far. They shouldn’t have to go hundreds of miles to find food,” Kielland says.

Kielland believes that other factors are likely involved. Someday, the project might help reveal what those things are.

“It’s still unclear to me why they would end up moving so far. They shouldn’t have to go hundreds of miles to find food,” Kielland says.

Kielland believes that other factors are likely involved. The project might one day help scientists figure out what those things are.

Use your division skills to answer the following questions.

Use your division skills to answer the following questions.