Wildlife

Wildlife

The Nez Perce National Historic Trail ranges from the deeply incised Columbia River Plateau, across the Continental Divide and a succession of ranges, canyons, and valleys, through forests and plains, across thermal areas and major rivers. The Trail winds through some of the most rugged and spectacular scenery in western America. It traverses some of the largest undisturbed tracts of sagebrush steppe habitat, and a tremendous variety of wildlife and plant species thrive across the varied habitats of the Trail corridor.

The Nez Perce National Historic Trail supports relatively unaltered and increasingly uncommon native habitats, the quality and extent of which are unequaled in the Pacific Northwest and Great Plains. Because of the variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats across this range, there exists a tremendous variety of plant and animal species along the Trail.

Canadian Lynx

• Scientific Name: Felis lynx canadensis
• Niimiipuutímt: wipwip

Description: Lynx have short tails and characteristic tufts of black hair on the tip of their ears. They have a ruff under the neck, which has black bars (not very visible), resembling a bow tie. They have large padded paws for walking on snow, and long whiskers on the face. All four of the lynx species have very long legs. The sizes of lynx vary from small at 5-20 kilograms, to medium at 40 kilograms. The body color varies from medium brown to gold-ish to beige-white; and occasionally, is marked with dark brown spots, especially on the limbs. All species of lynx also have white fur on their chests, bellies and on the insides of their legs, which are extensions of the chest and belly fur. Also, the lynx's coloring, fur height and paw size varies by its climate range - in the Southwest U.S., the fur and color are short-haired, dark and the paws are smaller and less padded; as the lynx ranges to its colder northern climes, the fur gets progressively thicker (for warmth), the color gets lighter (for camouflage) and its paws enlarge and become more padded for snowy environments. Their paws may become as large as a human hand or even larger. They have extremely good hearing and they also have 28 teeth, which, when paired with the jaw structure, stab deeply into their prey. The digestive system of the lynx allows them to eat the flesh of its prey, giving them extra nutrients. This can be especially helpful to the lynx because they are not the most efficient hunters, losing most of their prey to many other factors. Lynx also have a hyoid bone that allows them to purr loudly, but not roar.

Habitat: Canadian Lynx have been observed (2006) in the Wet Mountains of Colorado. In recent years, a few lynx sightings were reported in the southern Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina, specifically in the area from Mount Mitchell across to the Shope Creek Forest area (part of Pisgah National Forest). One lynx was even caught alive in a cage trap at Graystone Cabins near Barnardsville, North Carolina; the animal was later released into a wilderness area within Madison County, North Carolina. Although the USFWS officials still deny the presence of lynx in the southern Appalachians, the most recent sighting was reported in Sept 2007, along the Shope Creek Forest area. USFWS officials have said, if these were bona fide lynx sightings, they were most likely illegally-held pets, which were released or had escaped. The Canadian Lynx is common throughout the boreal forests of Canada, and is especially abundant throughout its northern range when snowshoe hare numbers are high.

Lineage: The four species of the Lynx genus all believe to have evolved from the Issoire Lynx. The Issoire Lynx is believed to have been the original lynx during the Pliocene period. The Issoire Lynx is considered to be more robust than today's lynx. From molecular genetic analysis, the North American Bobcat is the oldest branch, followed by the Iberian Lynx.

Legal status:The hunting of lynx is illegal in many countries. The Iberian Lynx is almost extinct and the killing of any individuals has been outlawed since the 1970s in Spain and Portugal. In 2000, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service designated the Canadian Lynx a Threatened species in the lower 48 states