This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Two Canada lynx released in southern Colorado this spring are touring Utah looking for possible new home ranges.
Since there have been no confirmed sightings of native wild lynx in Utah since the 1970s, the cats - listed as "threatened" on the Federal Endangered Species list - will probably discover plenty of suitable locations to call home.
The cats, however, are probably destined for a lonely life. At least until female lynx, released or reared as part of Colorado's reintroduction efforts, make their way to Utah.
"This is great news. I hope they decide to stay," said Kirk Robinson, executive director of Western Wildlife Conservancy, a Salt Lake-based environmental group focused on protecting and preserving predatory mammals.
"Utah is historic lynx habitat, and there is no reason why it can't support them again."
The two males are wearing collars with Global Positioning System units that relay their locations to Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDW) researchers once a week. The animals have been moving north and west since being released in early April near the town of Creede, in southern Colorado's San Juan Mountains.
A 5-year-old, originally trapped in British Columbia, last sent his signal from Wasatch County's Strawberry Valley on Friday. He was first found in Utah about 10 days ago on Diamond Mountain north of Vernal in Uintah County. The animal has since crossed the south slope of the Uinta Mountains, causing some to wonder if he is headed back to Canada's western coast. The cat has easily traveled 350 to 400 miles from the Colorado release site.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service researchers have not received a signal from a 3-year-old male transplanted from Quebec since he was recorded in the Range Creek area east of Price, and it is believed he has ventured into the deep canyons near the Green River.
These are not the first lynx to travel from Colorado to Utah, but none of the others survived or decided to stay. Other cats released in the reintroduction have traveled to New Mexico, Wyoming and Nebraska.
The last time a large predator - a wolf in 2002 - protected by the Endangered Species List entered Utah it was accidently captured and returned to its release site in Yellowstone. But lynx do not pose the vast political issues that wolves do, and the cats are currently welcome in Utah.
"The recommendation right now is just to leave them alone and watch what they do," said Laura Romin, endangered-species program coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Salt Lake office. "They are widely dispersing animals. If [they become established,] the recommendations may change."
If the lynx do decide to settle in Utah it likely will be in the High Uintas Wilderness Area in the northeast corner of the state, researchers predict.
"Based on our work, that area has the highest prey base in terms of total biomass of snowshoe hares and red squirrels," said Kevin Bunnell, who helped complete a recent study on lynx distribution in Utah for the state Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), U.S. Forest Service and FWS.
"That high elevation habitat gives the lynx the best chances for survival."
Bunnell and his fellow researchers avoided making a recommendation about whether the cats should be reintroduced directly into Utah, but it does not seem likely.
"You get almost anything to live somewhere for a while," said Alan Clark, wildlife section chief for the DWR. "We need to look at long-term stability of lynx. There have been times when lynx did well in Utah and times when they virtually disappeared. Lynx are not a priority right now.
"We are in a wait, watch-and-see-what-happens pattern."
Canada lynx facts
* Average about 3 feet in length with a short black-tipped tail and weigh between 20 and 30 pounds.
* Frequently confused with bobcats, which are smaller and more widely dispersed than lynx. Bobcats are more reddish in color and lynx more grayish. Lynx are easily distinguished by a tuft of hair on each ear.
* Placed as "threatened" on the Federal Endangered Species list in 2000.
* Pose no threat to humans.
* Favorite prey are snowshoe hares and red squirrels.
* Have been spotted off and on in Utah since Colorado began its reintroduction program in 1999.
* The Colorado Division of Wildlife reintroduction program began in 1999 with the release of 41 lynx, followed by 55 in 2000 and 33 in 2003. As many as 50 more will be released in 2005, and another 15 could be released in 2006 and 2007.
-Source: Colorado Division of Wildlife