"Facebook" Lynx found dead at Purg on Sunday

A lynx that was spotted walking across the slopes a week and a half ago, and numerous times since, was found dead at Purgatory on Sunday.

Purgatory ski patrol found the animal on a run on the backside of the mountain in the Chair 8 area. Although a cursory examination of the carcass by wildlife managers showed the lynx to be emaciated, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will send it to Fort Collins for a necropsy.

A video of the animal walking slowly across a crowded Lower Demon during Christmas break was viewed nearly a million times on social media.

CPW’s veterinarians will do a complete evaluation of the animal, including an examination of the contents of its stomach, a check for parasites and injuries, an assessment of its internal organs, and blood tests. Results might not be known for a few weeks.

The image of the animal sauntering calmly among skiers and snowboarders on Dec. 29 drew the attention of CPW biologists. Sightings of lynx are fairly common during the winter, said Scott Wait, senior terrestrial biologist for CPW’s southwest region. But after several Facebook videos appeared showing similar sightings of the animal, he became concerned.

“The first time I saw it, I wasn’t entirely surprised because we do get a lot of reports of lynx,” Wait said. “But after I saw three more videos of the same animal behaving the same way in the same area, I figured that something was wrong with the cat.”

Two presumably different lynx, a mother and a kitten, were photographed on nearby Molas Pass a week before the sighting at the ski area. Those animals walked calmly along the road as a motorist took photographs.

“We don’t want people to think that a lynx is sick every time they see one,” Wait said. “Lynx are doing well in Colorado but face the same challenges all wildlife does.”

In 1999, the Colorado Division of Wildlife started a lynx reintroduction program. A total of 218 lynx were transplanted from Canada and Alaska over the next seven years. Since then, multiple generations of lynx have been born. Surveys by CPW biologist show that the population of the large felines is stable.

To read more about lynx, go to the CPW web site: http://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/SOC-Lynx.aspx.