Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
its generally inaccessible habitat, and its relatively low population levels. Even the most basic ques-
tion—how many lynx there are, especially in the lower forty-eight states— hasn't been answered.
That situation is changing, however. John Weaver, a research biologist with the Wildlife Conser-
vation Society, has developed an excellent tool for assessing lynx numbers. After watching his cap-
tive lynx rub her cheeks against a post, Weaver devised rubbing pads with nails protruding from them.
Treated with his secret formula, which includes catnip, and scattered about in lynx country, these pads
collect hairs from the big-footed cats, which seem to enjoy rubbing against them. For example, in
Montana's Kootenai National Forest, twenty-eight rubbing pads yielded lynx hairs. The trick, of course,
is in determining how many different lynx are represented by these samples. Fortunately, DNA analysis
has come to the rescue.
Utilizing cats in its research, the National Cancer Institute has done considerable work on leukemia.
In 1995, Stephen O'Brien, performing studies at the Institute, refined a basic DNA analysis so that it
became useful in testing lynx hairs. This test is currently being used by the Wildlife Conservation So-
ciety to analyze lynx hair samples from the Kootenai Forest and several other locations in Canada and
the United States. Preliminary results indicate that several different lynx deposited the twenty-eight hair
samples from the Kootenai, but additional analysis is required to determine the minimum number of
individuals represented by the samples.
It's estimated that there are several hundred lynx in the lower forty-eight states, but these are often
in isolated populations, beleaguered by destruction or fragmentation of their habitat. With pressures of
this sort increasing, concerned scientists and conservation organizations have pressed the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service to list the lynx as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The
Service has so far declined, citing its limited resources and the need for further lynx studies.
However, biologists with the Colorado Division of Wildlife have released thirty-seven lynx imported
from Canada and Alaska. If enough of these survive, the biologists hope to release fifty more of the
cats next year. If successful, this would be a major step toward returning the lynx to some of its former
range.
Farther north, the lynx is in much better shape, and is thought to be holding its own. Although their
numbers fluctuate widely according to hare cycles, there are believed to be at least tens of thousands of
lynx in Canada and Alaska.
The life of a bobcat is very different from that of the lynx, close cousins or not. Life in the wild
is never easy, but bobcats mostly reside where the climate is far less forbidding than that which con-
fronts the lynx. Indeed, the ranges of the two species scarcely overlap: the bobcat, which roams down
through Mexico, barely spills over into southern Canada, while the lynx inhabits only a tiny chunk of
the United States, exclusive of Alaska. This rather neat geographic division has its advantages for the
lynx: throughout most of its range, it has no competition from the more aggressive bobcat.
With bitter cold and deep snows less of a problem, the bobcat has evolved in a very different manner
from its boreal cousin. It features smaller feet, much shorter legs, a more compact frame, and an alto-
gether more typically catlike appearance than the lynx. Its coat, while ample for winter protection in the
