Leads sought in lynx death

It’s been a rough winter for Canada lynx in Aroostook County, with three reported dead, including one shot earlier this season that has officials seeking the person responsible.
“U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents and game wardens of the Maine Warden Service are investigating the shooting of a Canada lynx with a high-velocity rifle that amputated one of the animal’s rear legs,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Robert Rothe.
     According to Rothe, the FWS is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for shooting the lynx late last year in northwestern Maine.
The injury prevented the animal from being able to feed or defend itself.
“The leg amputation compromised the adult male’s ability to fend for itself in the wild. The animal ultimately starved to death,” said Rothe.
Officials recovered the carcass on Dec. 20 in northwest Maine, about a half mile north of Third Musquacook Lake. It is believed, however, that the lynx may have been shot several days or weeks earlier and is believed to have traveled some distance from the site where it was first shot.
Rothe is hoping the public can help solve this case.
“Anyone with information about the incident should contact either Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement agents at 469-6842 or the Maine Warden Service’s Operation Game Thief at 800-ALERTUS (253-7887),” said Rothe.
At least two other lynx have been found dead since the beginning of winter, all in northwesterly section of Maine in Aroostook County. One was believed to have died of starvation, while the other appeared to have fallen victim to another animal, possibly a fisher, according to the Warden Service office in Ashland. A milder winter has made it difficult for lynx to feed, since other animals they prey on haven’t had to venture as far to find food themselves.
Rothe said male lynx have a home range of about 24 square miles. Wildlife biologists had equipped the lynx that was shot with a radio collar in 2000 as part of a Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Study.
“Information from the study shows that this lynx’s home range extended from the Musquacook Stream between Second and Third Musquacook lakes, eastward to Squirrel and Long ponds. The lynx had often been observed from the bridge at the intersection of the American Reality Road and the Blanchet-Maibec Road in Township T11 R11, in Aroostook County,” said Rothe.
According to Rothe, Canada lynx are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
“The federal penalty for killing a lynx is a six-month jail sentence and a fine of up to $25,000. Maine state law also prohibits the hunting and trapping of Canada lynx,” said Rothe.
The Maine Audubon, thanks to an anonymous donor, is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who shot the endangered lynx in Northern Maine. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Wildlife Federation are offering an additional $1,500 reward for information about the shooting.