In this video, we sit down with wildlife research scientist Jake Ivan to discuss lynx movement on the landscape and how lynx are doing in Colorado. Colorado Parks and Wildlife released 218 lynx from 1999 to 2006 and all the animals were fitted with telemetry collars so each could be tracked. This video shows some of their exploratory movements in Colorado and beyond.
Lynx
Lynx populations in Colorado plummeted in the late 1800s and early 1900s for various reasons, including general predator poisoning and unregulated trapping. The last known lynx was illegally trapped near Vail in 1974, a year after the state listed the lynx as endangered. In 1997, Colorado Parks and Wildlife undertook what was to become one of North America’s most high-profile carnivore reintroductions to date. Four years after the last lynx was released into the state in 2006, CPW deemed the initial lynx introduction effort a success. Research has now focused towards determining and maintaining the long-term success of the reintroduction. Learn more about lynx and Colorado’s successful lynx reintroduction in our Lynx Fact Sheet. Or, learn how to identify a lynx and report a lynx sighting.
Lynx Research Projects:
- Evaluating Options to Monitor Canada Lynx Reintroduction in Colorado
- Mammal and Breeding Bird Response to Bark Beetle Outbreaks
Jake Ivan is a Wildlife Researcher for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Jake’s research focuses on estimating wildlife population parameters and forest carnivore ecology, conservation, and monitoring.
