A resident of Rutland County in Vermont was out running errands when he caught sight of a big cat — one which, upon investigation, proved even more special than initially thought, according to WCAX.
When he noticed the cat, Gary Shattuck began filming it as it made its way stealthily along the side of a rural road. He then sent the footage to Vermont's Fish and Wildlife Department, where the resident furbearer biologist, Brehan Furfey, saw it and identified the species as the Canada lynx.
"That's an incredibly rare opportunity," Furfey enthused in an interview with WCAX. "It might be their only opportunity in their entire life. Like, how many people in this world has been able to say that I drove up to a lynx and I was able to record it?"
While bobcats, which look similar to lynx, are common in Vermont, this species of big cat is incredibly rare and elusive. In fact, the last confirmed sighting of a Canada lynx in Vermont was in 2018.
Furfey confirmed that there was absolutely no reason to fear the cats and that the proper response to seeing them — be it a lynx or a bobcat — is simply to admire from afar.
"I strongly encourage people to give their distance if they do see it and just a reminder to be respectful of the animal," she said.
And if a resident is able to capture footage at a distance that is safe for them and the animal, like Shattuck did, she encourages them to submit it to VFWD. The team receives 100-200 reports of potential lynx sightings every few years, according to WCAX. And while the majority turn out to be bobcats, ones like this one help biologists track the hard-to-find species around the state.
Sights like this are encouraging reminders of the ability — and the need — for humans and animals to coexist at a respectful distance, enabling more species to survive even when they both occupy the same habitat.
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