This lynx was captured on a Fish and Game game cam. The lynx was in the subalpine terrain of the Chilkat Valley where goats overwinter.
An increase in the number of lynx trapped and sighted in the Chilkat Valley during the past three years has piqued the interest of a retired Yukon biologist and trapper, who is now leading a volunteer effort to better understand the local population that is residing on the fringes of their range.
Elizabeth Hofer, in partnership with local trappers, vet Michelle Oakley, students and citizen scientists, is hoping to collect carcasses from trappers and take observations from citizens as part of the effort.
“This is not a full-blown academic research project, but a volunteer-based natural history approach to address an interesting ecological question and a gap in our understanding of lynx in North America,” Hofer said.
Although much is known about lynx in the Interior, boreal forest that constitutes its main habitat, little research exists in its coastal range, Hofer said. Much of the data on local lynx comes from trappers. In a normal year, only a handful of lynx, between one and three, get trapped in the Chilkat Valley, Hofer said. But in 2018, that number rose to 11 and during the following two years, 25 lynx were caught each year.
Because lynx populations rise and crash in cycles in response to the ebb and flow of their main prey, snowshoe hares, it’s unsurprising that lynx move into the valley over time. That so many lynx were trapped for a third year in a row is puzzling to Hofer.
“The assumption has always been that when there is any increase at all in lynx trapped on the coastal areas, then those lynx have probably moved in from an Interior area where there was a crash,” Hoffer said. “The delay time is one to two years. Let’s say the Kluane region had a crash of the lynx population one year after the snowshoe hare crash. That means one year later up to two years later you’d probably expect to see more lynx in the Chilkat Valley.”
Hofer said game cams used by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s brown bear and mountain goat population studies have caught several lynx on camera. She’s also looking for general public involvement to support biologists. People can get involved by passing on information to Hofer or Takshanuk Watershed Council. Lynx observers should note the date, location, number of animals, type of observation (tracks, animals, scat etc.), any notes about what the animal was doing and what type of habitat it was in.
Students may get involved with dissecting lynx carcasses provided by trappers. Trappers will be paid $20 per carcass.
“Trappers are the most valuable source of information in that valley,” Hoffer said.
Through dissection, researchers can learn what the animal was eating, how many young a female lynx bore, the general health of the animal and conduct genetic analyses.
Lynx are highly specialized predators. They are visual hunters who stalk or ambush snowshoe hares slowly and quietly.
This leaping lynx is from the Yukon during a low hare cycle, when it was hunting voles under the snow.
“It will watch and watch until things are right and then it will pounce,” Hoffer said. “They can leap easily, 9 or 10 feet. They are very light on the snow.”
The biggest factor that causes the snowshoe hare population to grow so quickly is their fast and prolific breeding. A female snowshoe hare can have up to four litters in the summertime with up to seven leverets (babies) in each litter. They build up so fast that every carnivore in the ecosystem will target the hares.
“There’s so much biomass, that if you eat meat as a predator or raptor that’s where you go,” Hofer said. “Following the dramatic buildup of hare numbers there is a dramatic crash and the snowshoe hares are gone.”
For more information on how to get involved contact Takshanuk Watershed Council at 766-3542 or email Hoffer at [email protected].