Canadian-lynx-in-snow-Canada

Photos Capture Rare Lynx Sighting in Colorado

Spotting a Canada lynx is “one of the more rare wildlife encounters to be had” in the state, lauds Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s SW Region.

This “truly special sighting” came courtesy of the San Juan Mountains as Photographer Wesley Berg searched the snow for these elusive wild cats. Berg has been searching for lynx “for years,” CPW says. He finally came across one on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.

His last photos captured of the species in Colorado came back in 2016. The Canada lynx has proved elusive ever since. “Berg spends a great amount of time in the San Juans capturing wildlife photos,” CPW offers in kind. “Seven years later, he finally got another encounter.”

As his resulting photos show, the wait was well worth it:

As for the elusive species’ status in the state, “In the 1990s, CPW began a 7-year effort to reintroduce these amazing animals back into the San Juan Mountains,” the dept. explains on Twitter.

“The reintroduction resulted in astounding success, and our current monitoring efforts suggest Colorado is home to 150-250 individual animals,” CPW adds alongside more of Berg’s photos:

Berg also put together a short video of his hour-long observation of this cat, which you can view here. “Definitely worth checking out!” CPW notes.

Last year held another incredible capture when a jet-black Canada lynx was photographed in the wild for the first time.

North America’s Lynx Species: Canadian Lynx or Bobcat?

As CPW explains, “Many people believe they have had lynx sightings, but often they are confused with bobcats.”

These two are our only species in North America, The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) and the bobcat (Lynx rufus). CPW recommends the following to distinguish between both in the wild:

  • Foot size: Lynx have enormous paws in general and relative to their body size. They’ll look out of proportion. As CPW says, a bobcat’s paws will look proportional to their body (like a large housecat).
  • Tail: The tip of a lynx’s tail is completely black, “as if the tail had been dipped in ink,” CPW cites. In turn, “The tip of the tail of a bobcat has a black spot on the top and is white underneath,” and will often have several black stripes. Bobcat tails are also longer on average.
  • Coat and Coloring: “The pelage of a lynx is typically long-haired and of a uniform coloring of grayish-brown in winter, with shorter hair that is more reddish in color in the summer,” CPW explains. A bobcat, however, will typically have distinct spotting on their coats, especially their faces and front legs.
  • Tracks: Because of those enormous paws, lynx tracks are much larger than that of a bobcat. In fact, a lynx track will be about 5 inches across, the size of a female mountain lion. A bobcat track will be approximately 2.5 – 3 inches across.

To learn more about these remarkable wild cats, check out CPW’s great 15-minute documentary on lynx reintroduction in Colorado here.