ELUSIVE SNOW CATS OF THE NORTH

©By Susan B. Eirich, Ph.D.

She crouched silently in the darkening forest, a ghostlike form in the tangled windfall waiting, watching, listening. Blending into the grays of the winter woods the only sign of life was a pair of intense golden eyes. The lynx was hunting, for the kittens already moving in her belly, for survival. On her efforts alone depended the future of her kind. Earlier, snowflakes had fallen lightly on her luxurious ashen coat. The snow had stopped falling as the temperature plummeted to minus 40. There was no margin for error in the unforgiving northern winter. In this cold it was succeed or perish. No extra effort could be expended on the chase. She waited motionless. Her long elegant black ear tufts gathered in the slightest whisper of movement as she listened, listened, listened, for hare, for sustenance, for life. Fresh snow lay deep, weighing down the boughs of the dark green pines. There was silence in the north woods except for an occasional crack of a limb in the numbing cold. It was too cold to carry the fragrance of the pines- too cold for anything. Yet this was her home. This was where she would survive and ensure the next generation. She had traveled long already today, a superbly honed huntress forged by a merciless environment. She had doubled her usual range, covering 25 miles through deep powder. She had not eaten yesterday. In this cold she had to eat every two days but the hare were scarce this year and getting harder and harder to find.

There was an increase of tension in her poised body; in the intensity of her concentration. With a sudden uncoiling of elongated limbs she burst from the windfall, flying on top of the powder in great leaps, one, two, three, four; half hidden in diaphanous sprays of white. The hare was unsuspecting. A bite to the neck and instant death. She had faced down starvation for another day.

Not too long ago the lynx ranged throughout the cool coniferous forests of North America, Canada and Alaska, where it is moist in summer, cold and snowy in winter. The forests support 3 species of cats, the cougar, bobcat and Canadian lynx, Lynx Canadensis. The lynx occupies the coldest, most northern regions. It is the only wildcat that ranges above the Arctic Circle. But it also extends down fingers of northern forest that reach into Washington, Montana, and Idaho. The historic range included 21 northern states neighboring Canada. It now barely survives in four. In April 2000 it was listed as endangered. Estimates run between 350 and 750 animals left in the lower 48 states. Of those there may be 50 in Idaho. There have been actual sightings in the Tetons, Snakes and Big Holes. There was a probable sighting recently in South Leigh Creek. The lynx is in our valley.

The story began a long long time ago and even before that, when an exquisite creature resembling a snow leopard migrated from Eurasia to the North American forests during one of the last two glacial periods. Its strategy for survival was to become a specialist, in a region where no other competitor lived. It focused almost exclusively on the snowshoe hare as its source of food, and by living and hunting in areas of deep soft snow where other predators are at a disadvantage. Like its prey the snowshoe hare, the lynx has disproportionately long legs and its huge paws, covered with dense fur, look and act like snowshoes. Spreading its toes in soft snow expands the "snowshoes" even further. It is very light in proportion to its size. Most of the apparent bulk is made up of a thick, long coat of lustrous silky fur to protect against the extreme cold of the northern winters. The huge paws and light body weight help it travel across the deep powder as no other predator can, giving a crucial competitive advantage. It is more than twice as effective at supporting weight on snow than it's more aggressive rival, the bobcat. To conserve energy in cold the lynx spends much time bedded down, and uses ambush techniques to hunt when possible.

The lynx has not just superbly mimicked its source of life becoming almost one with it, the hunter and the hunted; but is intimately and inextricably tied to fate of the hare. Across most of the boreal forest, hare populations undergo dramatic fluctuations of boom and bust in a cycle that lasts 8-11 years. During the peak, up to 1500 hare/km2, the lynx population thrives. In the good years, without trapping pressure, almost 90 % of the population survives and kittens abound. When the hare crash, the lynx follow within a year or two. During the next 3-4 years nearly half will starve to death. In one study all radio collared lynx left the area or died by the end of the first year of the hare crash. In another they dropped from 30 to 3 per 100 sq. km. in the first year. When the hare population starts to rebuild lynx breed but kittens will die soon after birth or succumb before winter. For the next 3-5 years few kittens live to adulthood. In some years none will make it. The lynx simply cannot support herself and her litter.

Heavy trapping at these sensitive times removes the surviving breeding adults and is one of the major causes for its approach to extinction. In response to changing supply and demand, prices for pelts often correspond with a low in the lynx cycle. Five years after the last crash longhaired fur came into fashion and one trapper saw a pelt sell for $1100, "Buyers were showing up with suitcases full of money." Hudson Bay offered an Elan skidoo for 5 pelts. Trapping pressure has increased in past 20-30 years because of higher prices, snowmobiles and improved access to remote areas along road and cut lines through the bush. As lynx get scarce and prices go up, trappers seek out the last refuges of hare and concentrate their efforts there. Starving lynx are easy prey, and an area can be completely trapped out. In some areas there are regulations now in place to ease trapping pressure during the low.

When hare are plentiful a lynx can consume two in three days. During times of scarcity they will eat mice, voles, squirrels, grouse, ptarmigan, and even carrion, but these don't meet their specialized nutritional needs. They can't maintain the fat reserves necessary to endure starvation and cold temperatures. Many are driven by hunger to leave their home territories. One animal was documented to have traveled over 700 miles over a period of a few months. Historically there have been periodic mass movements out of the forest and into open grasslands. Lynx have appeared on the prairies of North Dakota and Iowa. When traveling they are more vulnerable to traps and predators because they are starving, and because they are in unfamiliar terrain. One radio-collared lynx was killed by a bobcat. Another, reintroduced in southwest Colorado, was shot in Nebraska. Starvation also leads to behavior changes in these shy elusive animals - they become indifferent to humans. During one migration a lynx walked into Alberta and through the set of a TV production - on camera. Another appeared overlooking an outdoor wedding of 100 people dancing to a band. A number of people in the US have seen lynx in public places. Rick Thompson, a lynx researcher with the Western Forest Carnivore Committee cautioned that the public, and developers, should not interpret the behavior of starving and desperate lynx as meaning they are "able to live with people. They can't run away from every benign disturbance in starvation mode." Migration for another motivation has been noted. Thompson reports that one radio-collared male in the Colorado reintroduction was there one day and three days was found 140 miles south as the crow flies. The suspect cause was the timing- it was mating season.

As a species it is beautifully adapted because they can reproduce fast when the hare come back. During the population rebound up to 50% of the lynx trapped are kittens. But on individuals it takes a tragic toll. "You get attached to your study animal, track it, follow its life, and then find a dead bag of bones," said one researcher. Lynx are curious and relatively easy to capture, following regular routes. Brian Aber, a wildlife biologist with the Targhee National Forest reports that he heard from a trapper that "when lynx are snared with just a piece of seine cord - when it tightens they would just lay there quietly- they don't fight." A researcher noted, "The eyes really grab you -they're so quiet, so nice to handle in a trap- wolverine and fox fight- they just sit and watch."

Because they are so elusive, and their home ranges large, very little is known about their behavior. Some insights can come from trained observers able to watch them in captivity. Naturalist and wild animal trainer Jean Simpson of The Wild Bunch Ranch has two lynx. As a kitten Pinkerton was raised with another baby lynx, which died of a genetic defect. Pinkerton became listless, lost weight, wouldn't eat, wouldn't play. This went on for weeks. In desperation Simpson put him in with a baby bobcat. Within minutes they were snuggled together, licking, purring, playing, and Pinkerton began to thrive again. Much later, in adulthood, it was necessary to separate them as the bobcat would terrorize Pinkerton- but only mentally. He never hurt him physically. And Pinkerton retained a lifelong affection for the bobcat. Pinkerton now lives with another lynx and they are close companions. When let free to run they go off on their own, then look for one another and return to each other with gleeful bounds, greeting with a gentle touching of forehead to forehead and a soft woo woo woo. This belies the frequent reports in the literature that they are solitary. Perhaps they hunt so, as they must have their own territory for sustenance. But that does not mean they do not want or enjoy company. Kittens often stay together for a time after separating from their mother. There are evocative reports, from rare close observation in the wild, that lynx sometimes meet in spruce groves to socialize.

The hare cycle is not as extreme in the southern part of its range. The hare are fewer in number but more reliable, and lynx will hunt tree squirrels as well as hare. However in the south, rather than vast expanses of forests, they face a fragmented habitat. Southern forests are naturally interrupted by mountains, and by sage valleys connected only by river corridors. Lynx need larger ranges to hunt, up to 90 square miles, and the ability to travel safely between areas of suitable habitat becomes critical. In general there is an increasing recognition among biologists that this need for movement corridors applies to many species. Viable populations are only preserved in the long run if there are movement corridors to connect them.

With the lynx this is especially true. They are arranged as a "meta-population." Through their entire range, from the taiga north to the Arctic Circle and south to the fingers of northern forests extending into the United States, the lynx are interconnected, essentially forming one population. The geographical center lies in the taiga, with ebb and flow emanating from the center of the taiga outward towards the periphery. What happens in the population center affects outlying areas. While studying local populations is essential, it turns out it is also important to enlarge our view. Without looking at the larger picture, conservation efforts for the lynx are bound for failure.

Along with the importance of corridors of safety there is increasing recognition that the national parks, preserves, and refuges we have serve in effect as "islands" surrounded by impassable and deadly land (human habitation). We are realizing that it is not biologically possible for animals to conform to political boundaries or neat packages of land with development up to the edge. They need connectedness and flow between patches of habitat. In addition to allowing animals to forage a larger range, these movement corridors allow travel between neighboring populations, prevent inbreeding, allow for escape or migration if one population faces catastrophe, and allow animals to re-colonize good habitat that has been emptied of their kind. Or, in the case of the male who traveled 140 miles, corridors enabled him to respond to a certain biological urgency.

As patches of habitat get smaller and more distant animals leave their islands less and less; local populations become more isolated, less vibrant, less viable. Some conservation biologists are trying to develop a master plan for individual states, regions and even the whole country, working towards interconnecting corridors woven between human settlements so that humans and the wild can coexist.

Nearly all remaining lynx habitat is on public lands. They prefer a closed forest (where canopies touch). The natural forest fragmentation of their southern range is being exaggerated more and more by ever-decreasing "island" size. Logging, roads and buildings all create openings for access to the inner forest that was once a sanctuary from competitors and predators. Fragmentation means smaller islands of habitat which means more proportionally more edges. Forest edges favor generalist predators over the specialists such as the lynx. Bobcats, cougars and coyotes are all more abundant and widespread than 50 years ago. They compete for the hare and prey upon the lynx. In general, in the opinion of many biologists, habitat fragmentation is the most serious threat to biological diversity and is the primary cause of the present extinction crisis.

Now that the lynx has been listed as endangered, the US Forest Service is mandated to manage for its existence. Patty Bates of the U.S. Forest Service in Driggs states that almost the entire Caribou and Targhee national forests is good lynx habitat - 2 million acres with conifers, moist forest, hare and tree squirrels. There have been confirmed sightings in the area. She notes that one of the dangers for lynx is the packed trails made by cross-country skiers and snowmobiles. Following these trails gives bobcats, coyotes and cougars access to the habitat of the lynx where they can out-compete and kill them. Where other mid-size forest predators such as the wolverine, fisher and marten are noted for their ferocity, the lynx is a gentle cat. It is no contest for other predators. If confronted it will not fight for its kill. It adapted to deep soft snow to avoid confrontation and competition. Packed trails take away the major advantage of this gentle cat, an advantage it needs to survive. Current policy is not to close existing trails but to do no new grooming or designation of winter trails that would increase access. In trying to balance recreation with the needs of wildlife, Bates asks that the public stay on designated routes to minimize disturbance.

Bates further explains that in the high country there are no areas of heavily compacted snow, giving the lynx an area basically free of other predators. She stated that the public should realize the recreational impact at higher elevations to species such as the lynx. They occupy areas usually thought of as empty in our region, areas that imitate the far north. According to Aber, snowmobiles are one of the biggest concerns for an animal whose strategy for survival is to occupy country no one else wants. Because the species that utilize them are elusive and not easily seen does not mean the high country is empty.

All this applies equally to the wolverine, fisher and marten - animals that like the lynx inhabit, and need, the last wild places in the American West. Before the turn of the century they were relatively common. Now they have been shunted to remote roadless areas and remaining pockets of old growth and even there are no longer safe from intrusion. There is so little known about the neglected mid-sized forest carnivores that a group of scientists got together to form the Western Forest Carnivore Committee in 1997. While there is much attention focused on wolves and grizzlies entire groups of smaller, less glamorous and in some cases more hard pressed species are quietly being ushered out of existence, their increasing plight unseen as they face extinction from trapping, loss of habitat, and lack of awareness and research. Biologists are looking at remaining large tracts of wilderness areas and feel that now is the time to identify large areas with interconnecting movement corridors that will serve all species well. If we save habitat for the lynx we are saving habitat for the wolverine, fisher, marten, grizzly bear and wolves - and humans.

Through the darkest and coldest part of the year, sometimes in temperatures lower than minus 40 a lynx roams over its home range in search of snowshoe hare. Perhaps it is waiting quietly in snowy willows beside a well-trodden rabbit path as you read this; or searching slowly along the edge of a spruce-hemmed clearing; or perhaps mysteriously drawn to seek company of its own kind, socializing in a spruce grove during a long arctic night, northern lights streaking the sky..... This gentle, lovely, loving cat harms no one, and delights the imagination with its wild sweet face, ear tufts and flaring ruff. It is the most striking image of the northern forest. May we have the courage and determination to let it live.

The thick coat hid the thinness of her body. She had not eaten now for several days and the cold was taking her strength. There was no milk left. It was necessary for her to range far, farther beyond what she had ever known, to strange places, in search of hare. She turned, took a last look at her kittens weakly mewing, and walked away, south, always south, towards unknown dangers, unknown territory, towards the possibility of food, of another chance to give birth again in a better time and place. Across rivers, lakes, roads; past cities, hunting, endlessly hunting, in new, unfamiliar terrain... past human habitations, dogs, baited traps and guns, she traveled south, ever south, towards an uncertain future......