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Northern Minnesota is home to some of the most untouched and pristine forests in America and the team at the Voyageurs Wolf Project have trail cameras set up all over to monitor wolf packs in remote areas. They recently shared absolutely gorgeous footage of Canadian lynx roaming the trails and it’s a beautiful look at these reclusive and rare big cats.
As a quick point of reference, a bobcat is a lynx but a Canada lynx is not a bobcat. That’s because there are 4 distinct subspecies of lynx: Canada lynx, bobcat, Eurasian lynx, and the Iberian lynx. I regularly see bobcats near my house here in SW Florida but never in my life have I seen a Canada lynx up close.
These cats are found throughout every part of Canada expect Nunavut. And their historical range dips down into the United States in parts of Maine, the upper tips of Vermont and New York, the northeast corner of Minnesota, parts of northwest Montana, and a small sliver of Washington near Seattle.
These big cats are stunning with their long ear tufts, stooped appearance, and wintry coats. This lynx footage from the Voyageurs Wolf Project was shared earlier this month but it was just emailed to me this week and I wanted to share it with you all today:
If you’re fighting the urge to think these Canada lynx look like adorable kitties deserving of petting, you are not alone… Apparently, some of them are just big babies like Max here:
Fight the urge. Do NOT try and pet one if you see a Canada lynx in the wild!