We recently agreed to add our voice to Louis Dog’s Life Endangered Species Challenge. Mom however missed the date so I’m posting it for her albeit a couple days late. Why not use all that groovy technology you have at your fingertips for crying out loud, I ask? Sheesh, pawrents!

Sam here. I think we can all agree that far too many of the world’s fascinating animals are in danger of disappearing from Planet Earth. To figure out which threatened or endangered animal we wanted to highlight, we went to our state Parks & Wildlife website for their comprehensive list. Sadly there were waaay too many listed and it was hard to single out one in particular until we saw the beautiful and elusive Lynx. With its trademark ear tufts and huge feet, it was clear we wanted to shed some light on this beautiful mammal. Besides, I’m fascinated by cats!

Lynx are a large bob-tailed cat about 3 feet long weighing anywhere from 20-30 pounds, possessing a black-tipped tail about one-eighth of its total length, and only about half the length of its huge hind feet even if mom’s photo makes it look like Mr. Lynx is ginormous compared to moi. For comparison, I’m about 50 lbs. when I hold my breath 🙂 [sizing–yet another technology fail on mom’s part-ugh]. Their coats are grayish with some obscure spots but their single most recognizable characteristic is the fabulous ear tufts that might be nearly as long as the actual ears. Often referred to as a ‘silent predator,’ the lynx is a patient hunter, waiting for the right moment and helped by those enormous hind feet which allow them to move easily across the snowpack to pounce on their preferred meal of choice: snowshoe hares. Their feet are huge at around 8 inches long. Can you say, “Big Foot?!”

Although you’re more likely to see Sasquatch than a lynx in Colorado, there was an ambitious and controversial reintroduction plan in the late 1990’s in the remote San Juan mountains. Nearly 30 years later it has been deemed successful with between 150-250 of these magnificent felines being monitored by radio-satellite collars. Lynx are still considered critically imperiled in Colorado and with a recent population explosion in our state, it does remain to be seen if lynx and humans can eventually co-exist again. We’re rooting for this ‘fur-tastic’ mammal to survive. Have you ever seen one in the furs?

Live, love, bark! <3