An Unusual Lynx Experience
A lynx family huddles together in Northern Ontario. Photo by Scott Taisey
Winter 2017
By Bill Taylor, Chairman of the Board
Many people are surprised to learn that the Upper Peninsula has a few lynx as permanent residents or visitors from Ontario. The lynx's large padded feet leave distinctive tracks in the snow, and I followed a long line of them in Chippewa County many years ago. My relatives who live there occasionally also see the animals themselves.
My friends Scott and Lesley Taisey see lynx much more frequently in the Nipigon area of Northern Ontario where they live, and had a particularly interesting experience with a mother lynx and her three full-size cubs last winter. These lynx spent a considerable amount of time in the forested area around their home, and gradually allowed the Taisey's to snowshoe along and take photographs while they hunted or rested.
Scott took this unusual photograph from about 30 feet away while the family rested in the brush and trees near their driveway. Notice the characteristic black tufts on the lynx's ears and the white and black ruffs under their throats in the photograph.
The mother lynx took the cubs along on her hunting forays, and on one occasional the Taiseys saw her kill a snowshoe hare and drive the cubs away and eat the entire animal herself. This indicated that she was pushing the cubs out on their own, and this probably did not take very long to happen. Hopefully she will show up with new cubs this winter and provide more insights on lynx behavior.
By Bill Taylor, Chairman of the Board
Many people are surprised to learn that the Upper Peninsula has a few lynx as permanent residents or visitors from Ontario. The lynx's large padded feet leave distinctive tracks in the snow, and I followed a long line of them in Chippewa County many years ago. My relatives who live there occasionally also see the animals themselves.
My friends Scott and Lesley Taisey see lynx much more frequently in the Nipigon area of Northern Ontario where they live, and had a particularly interesting experience with a mother lynx and her three full-size cubs last winter. These lynx spent a considerable amount of time in the forested area around their home, and gradually allowed the Taisey's to snowshoe along and take photographs while they hunted or rested.
Scott took this unusual photograph from about 30 feet away while the family rested in the brush and trees near their driveway. Notice the characteristic black tufts on the lynx's ears and the white and black ruffs under their throats in the photograph.
The mother lynx took the cubs along on her hunting forays, and on one occasional the Taiseys saw her kill a snowshoe hare and drive the cubs away and eat the entire animal herself. This indicated that she was pushing the cubs out on their own, and this probably did not take very long to happen. Hopefully she will show up with new cubs this winter and provide more insights on lynx behavior.