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To request this attractive Loon Conservation Plate Bumper
Sticker, please email your name, mailing address, and the
number of stickers you would like to receive to
karen.estabrook@maine.gov. Stickers are also available
at MDIFW headquarters and regional offices.

The Canada lynx is a medium-sized cat and can be
distinguished from a bobcat by its completely black-tipped
bobbed tail, longer ear tufts, and larger paws. Lynx
populations are influenced by the numbers and distribution of
snowshoe hare -- their primary prey. Maine is at the
southern extent of the lynx range where forests transition
from spruce-fir to hardwood and where winter snow depths
lessen. Snow track surveys initiated in 2003, and historic

information, indicate that lynx distribution has not changed substantially over the last
100 years. Lynx remain most common north of Moosehead Lake. In 1999, the
Department and the USFWS initiated a radio-telemetry study to determine the status
of lynx and identify factors that limit lynx. Since 1999, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
has captured and radio-collared 77 lynx (42 males and 35 females) and documented the
production of 37 litters of kittens. From 2000-05, home-range size, productivity, and
survival rates suggest lynx were thriving in Maine. More recently, snowshoe hare
densities and the number of lynx producing litters have declined. MDIFW, the University
of Maine, and USFWS will continue to collect and analyze additional data to determine if
lynx can be maintained at lower levels and to identify the conditions (e.g. hare, habitat)
needed to maintain lynx in Maine.This work is supported, in part, with Loon Conservation
Plate funds. READ MORE