Fate of Colorado Lynx Still Uncertain

In this Colorado Division of Wildllfe map, the highest levels of lynx activity are shown in red.

By Bob Berwyn

Despite ongoing intensive efforts to monitor Colorado’s reintroduced lynx population, biologists are still not sure if the threatened cats will survive in the long run. “It’s not clear if reproduction will keep up with mortality,” said Kurt Broderdorp, the Grand Junction-based biologist who keeps tabs on lynx for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service….

…Between 1999 and 2006, state biologists transplanted 218 lynx from Alaska and Canada to the San Juans. Since then, researchers have documented 118 lynx deaths, with more than a quarter of those fatalities related to human involvement, including poaching and vehicle collisions.

Trackers and biologists have also documented the birth of about 115 lynx kittens dating back to 2003. In 2007 and 2008, they couldn’t find any sign of lynx reproduction, but the researchers believe that other kittens have been born to females that can’t be tracked because they don’t have active radio transmission collars. In 2009, 10 kittens were born, including the first documented set of third-generation Colorado kittens, born to native Colorado lynx. State biologists said this was a key step toward establishing a self-sustaining population.

Read the rest of this story at Summit County Citizens Voice, the new website created by longtime Colorado journalist Bob Berwyn.