Canada Lynx

Photo by Katie Harding.

The Zoo is proud to announce the arrival of one and a half year old female Canada lynx, Sylvie. Female Canada lynx, Sylvie, came to the Buttonwood Park Zoo from the Montreal Biodome per a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Canada Lynx Species Survival Plan (SSP). The goal of the SSP is to cooperatively manage lynx populations within AZA accredited zoos to ensure the sustainability of a healthy and genetically diverse population. Sylvie will join our male Canada lynx, Calgary, in the adjacent lynx exhibit. Calgary, 14 years old, was born at the Philadelphia Zoo and has been at the Buttonwood Park Zoo for five years. Through carefully monitored introductions, these two Canada lynx will hopefully share the two exhibits and become a successful breeding pair in the future. The Buttonwood Park Zoo is one of the few AZA accredited institutions that is home to Canada lynx and we are dedicated to conserving this important North American species.

Canada lynx inhabit boreal forests in North America from the Arctic tree line, south through much of Alaska and Canada, into northern parts of the United States. Lynx are most likely to persist in areas that receive large and consistent amounts of snow and have high-density populations of snowshoe hares, their principal prey. The lynx’s gradual disappearance throughout the United States has been a result of habitat destruction and fragmentation, effects of climate change, competition from other predators for prey, and historically being overhunted and trapped. Due to these factors, the Canada lynx is listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.