Rare native wild cat seen in Rutland County

RUTLAND COUNTY, Vt. (NEWS10) -- According to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, a Canada lynx was spotted in Vermont for the first time since 2018, showing up in Rutland County. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says the state is on the southernmost edge of the Canada lynx's range, with most confirmed sightings from the Northeast Kingdom which has the best climate for the lynx in the state.

Authorities say a video recorded on August 17, taken by Gary Shattuck of Shrewsbury, saw the lynx walking along a road edge. Authorities also say that Rutland County isn't a suitable habitat for large numbers of snowshoe hare, or by extension, lynx.

Wildlife biologist and furbearer project leader Brehan Furfey suspects the lynx was a male moving through the region looking to establish his territory, a behavior called "dispersing." Authorities say the lynx may be no longer in Vermont.

“Canada lynx are endangered in Vermont and threatened nationally,” said Brehan Furfey, wildlife biologist and furbearer project leader with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.  “That makes any verifiable lynx sighting in our state important.  This newest sighting is especially exciting because the cat was spotted in Rutland County, far south of most confirmed lynx reports in Vermont.”

“Although this lynx appears to be on the thinner side, its calm behavior around passing cars as reported by observers is not unusual for a dispersing individual,” said Furfey.  “This lynx was probably just focused on finding food in an area where hares are not abundant and on avoiding competition with bobcats and fishers while passing through southern Vermont.”

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says they've received over 160 reports of lynx since 2016, but only seven have been confirmed. The last one before this was seen in Jericho.

“If you think you’re looking at a lynx the most helpful thing you can do is take a photo or video and send it to the Fish and Wildlife Department,” said Furfey.  “The large majority of photographs our biologists receive are bobcats, but that doesn’t exclude the possibility that a Canada lynx will show up one day.”