Biologists Discover Litter Of Lynx Kittens

DENVER — The discovery of 10 lynx kittens this spring marks the first newborns documented in Colorado since 2006, heartening biologists overseeing restoration of the mountain feline.

The tuft-eared cats with big, padded feet were native to Colorado, but were wiped out by the early 1970s by logging, trapping, poisoning and development. They are listed as threatened on the endangered species list.

Biologists found no kittens the past two years, possibly partly because of a drop in the number of snowshoe hares, the cats' main food source.

This year, seven male and three female kittens were found in five dens.

More than 200 lynx from Alaska and Canada have been released in Colorado since 1999. Biologists don't know how many lynx are currently in the state.

Comments

[missviv]

Kittehs!!!!

[starsnsea]

delighted to read this great news.

I will be pulling for the little ones to grow and thrive.

thanks for this piece!

[TigersEye]

Cutest article of the day! I hope species such as this continue to come back, and multiply.

[mlaiuppa]

Cool.

I hope they are allowed to live in peace and to prosper.

They're our native "snow leopard".