Rare Creature Seen for First Time Since 2018, Vermont Officials Say. ‘That’s No Bobcat’

Rare Canada Lynx sighted in Vermont.

NOTE: this article was originally published to MiamiHerald.com on Augist 23, 2024. It was written by Natalie Demaree. Feature image above is from Gary Shattuck's video shared in Vermont Fish & Wildlife's Facebook post. 

Gary Shattuck was driving in Rutland County on Saturday, Aug. 17, when he spotted a cat that he thought looked unusual, said Joshua Morse, a Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department spokesperson. Shattuck took a video of the wildcat and sent it to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, where officials identified it, Morse said. On Wednesday, Aug. 21, the department shared its findings in a Facebook post. “Giant back feet? Check! All black tail tip? Check! Telltale upward sloping hind quarters? Check! That’s no bobcat, it’s a Canada Lynx,” the department wrote. Canada lynxes are a federally threatened species and considered endangered in Vermont. The lynxes are elusive even in places that get more lynx sightings than Vermont, like Maine and New Hampshire, officials said in the post. Morse said the department receives an average of 20 Canada lynx sighting reports per year — most unverifiable — but this is the first official confirmed sighting since 2018. “Even though it’s very rare for people to actually see lynxes, we want folks who think they have seen one to take a photo and reach out,” Morse said. “Every once in a while it actually is a lynx, and we want to know.” Officials suspect this lynx was a young male passing through in search of new territory and has moved on past Vermont.