Long-Distance Lynx

Early on a September morning in 2017, nature photographer Tim Newton was awakened by what sounded like “a herd of ravens” outside his house in Anchorage, Alaska. Newton went to the window and saw what he thought was a stray cat on the deck below. Two more ran by. Newton nearly shooed them off, but something stopped him. The creatures had black tufts sticking up from their ears. “I thought, ‘Well, that’s maybe not a domestic cat,’” recalls Newton. He was right: They were juvenile lynxes.

Newton got his camera, took some pictures, and was about to go on with his day when he heard a mewing sound. It was a mother lynx in the grass next to the deck calling her kittens! “As she called several more times, they all came out of the grass one by one,” Newton says. He began taking pictures from behind the screen door. The lynx kittens came up onto the deck, sat down, and stared at the camera trying to figure out what was making the clicking noise. Eventually, all seven kittens were on the deck, with the mother lynx standing beside them. Newton snapped a family photo.

Tim Newton is a nature photographer in Anchorage, Alaska. One early morning in September 2017, a strange sound outside his house woke him up. When Newton went to the window and looked at the deck below, he saw what he thought was a stray cat. Then two more ran by. Newton almost shooed them away, but something stopped him. The animals had black tufts sticking up from their ears. “I thought, ‘Well, that’s maybe not a domestic cat,’” says Newton. He was right: They were young lynxes!

Newton got out his camera and took some pictures. He was about to go on with his day when he heard a mewing sound. It was a mother lynx in the grass next to the deck, calling to her kittens! “As she called several more times, they all came out of the grass one by one,” Newton says. He began taking pictures from behind the screen door. The lynx kittens came up onto the deck, sat down, and stared at the camera trying to figure out what was making the clicking noise. Eventually, all seven kittens were on the deck, with the mother lynx standing next to them. Newton snapped a family photo. 

Newton is just one of many Alaska residents who have been spotting lynxes in recent years. Lynxes are medium-sized wildcats that live in the forests of Alaska and Canada, as well as in some of the lower 48 states. They are known for their tufted ears and their appetite for snowshoe hares.

Today, lynx sightings are more common because populations are pretty high, says Knut Kielland, an ecologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. People might be seeing more lynxes now because the wildcats are moving around looking for their next meal.

Snowshoe hares are lynxes’ favorite prey. The hare population rises and falls in a 10-year cycle. Because lynxes depend on snowshoe hares for food, lynx populations tend to follow the same pattern, but their peak lags a year or two. Hare populations peaked in fall of 2018. Soon, the hare population will crash, and after that, the lynx population will likely follow suit.

Newton is just one of many Alaskans who have seen lynxes in recent years. The medium-sized wildcats live in the forests of Alaska and Canada, as well as in some of the lower 48 states. They are known for their tufted ears.

Today, lynx sightings are more common than they used to be. That’s because populations are pretty high, says Knut Kielland. He’s an ecologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. People might be seeing more lynxes now because the wildcats are moving around looking for food, he says.

Lynxes’ favorite prey are snowshoe hares. The hare population rises and falls in a natural cycle that lasts 10 years. Lynxes depend on snowshoe hares for food, so their population usually follows the same pattern. A year or two after the hare population peaks, the lynx population does too. Hare populations peaked in fall of 2018, so there are a lot of lynxes this year. Soon, the hare population will fall again, and the lynx population likely will too.

The project has shown that each lynx’s movements is different. Some stick around their home range. Other lynxes go exploring—as Kielland calls it­—and then return home. But lynxes do not migrate seasonally, summering in one place and wintering in another. Instead, the ones that go the distance are more likely to travel in a one way dispersal that Kielland and his team are researching.

Dispersals are also more common than researchers knew. “What we’re finding out now is that it’s on a fairly large scale. Lots of animals do this, apparently, and they’re going really long distances,” says Kielland. For example, a collared lynx nicknamed Hobo traveled 2,174 miles from June 2017 to July 2018. “That was really quite something,” Kielland says.

Yet scientists aren’t exactly sure what the reasons are for these epic journeys. The main hypothesis is that lynxes disperse when food is scarce. But hare hunting is unlikely to explain everything about lynx movements.

“It’s still unclear to me why they would end up moving so far. You would think that they should be able to find some food eventually. They shouldn’t have to go hundreds of miles to find it,” Kielland says. He concludes that other factors are likely involved. “There are other things that go into the matter of being a lynx,” he says. Someday, the project might help reveal what those things are.

The project has shown that each lynx’s movements is different. Some stick around their home range all year. Other lynxes go exploring and then return home. But unlike some animals, lynxes do not migrate one way for  summer and back the other way for winter. Instead, the ones that make long journeys are more likely to travel one way and then stay put. 

Dispersals like this are also more common than researchers knew. “What we’re finding out now is that it’s on a fairly large scale. Lots of animals do this, apparently, and they’re going really long distances,” says Kielland. For example, between June 2017 and July 2018, a lynx nicknamed Hobo traveled 2,174 miles. “That was really quite something,” Kielland says.

Scientists still aren’t exactly sure why lynxes make these epic journeys. The leading hypothesis is that the predators disperse when food is scarce. But that probably doesn’t explain everything about lynx movements. “It’s still unclear to me why they would end up moving so far. You would think that they should be able to find some food eventually. They shouldn’t have to go hundreds of miles to find it,” Kielland says.