Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
12 Year Radio Telemetry Study

lynx close-up

Who:

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
IFW staff responsible for conducting the research.
Data analyzed by IFW, USFWS, and the University of Maine.
Funded by IFW, USFWS, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit, Defenders Of Wildlife, Forest Products Council, Kendall Foundation, Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, National Council of Air and Stream Improvement, Plum Creek Timberlands, Sweet Water Trust, USGS-Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and the Wildlife Conservation Society

Why:

Little was known about lynx in the northeastern United States
Maine had the most consistent evidence of lynx presence
Prior to the federal listing of lynx as a threatened species, we initiated a study to:

A year later, lynx were federally listed as a threatened species in Maine and 13 other States
These data needed for the development of conservation action to insure the persistence of lynx in Maine.

Where:

When:

How:

We captured and equipped lynx with radio collars
We located radiocollared lynx to monitor lynx movements and habitat choices
In the spring, we located female lynx at their den sites and counted the number of offspring
In the winter, we followed female lynx to determine how many kittens had survived
We investigated each radiocollared lynx mortality to determine the cause of death
We developed a map of different forest conditions and plotted lynx locations
We counted the number of prey in different forests

What We Found Out:

We equipped and monitored 85 lynx (44 males, 41 females) with radio collars
We documented the birth of 111 kittens in 42 litters
Between 1999 and 2005, snowshoe hare, lynx primary prey, were common
Lynx often found in regenerating dense stands of spruce/fir saplings where hares were most common
Lynx can persist in Maine and can occur at high densities
Lynx numbers increased during this period
Lynx produced large litters and most kittens survived
Lynx reared their kittens in dense forests that contained blown down trees or brush piles for den structures
Like elsewhere, starvation and predation were the leading cause of lynx mortalities
Between 2006 and 2009, snowshoe hare were less common and fewer lynx produced litters
In 2010, snowshoe hares were common and female lynx gave birth to kittens
We are currently analyzing other data to better understand lynx, snowshoe hare, and habitat relationships in northern Maine.

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