Photo Proves Existence of Alaska Lynx, or Possibly Bigfoot

Milo, picking up trash

This Labor Day weekend, a friend and I (and Milo the dog, pictured above for no good reason, except he is my dog) were about 15 minutes out of town on a dirt road on the way to a quick morning hike when we saw a lynx by the side of the road.  That’s rare and very exciting.

The legendary Loch Ness Lynx, as seen through my iPhone camera

They are listed as a threatened species in the lower 48, but in Alaska, a place where we have a chance to do it right, there is a healthy population.  Despite that, I’ve only seen three lynx in my 17 years here.

We pulled up about 30 yards away, but the lynx ignored the car and stared into the bushes at the side of the road.  I have never seen an animal sit so still for so long.  We had binoculars and could clearly see the tufted ears and the big feet.  There was no doubt it was a lynx.

But after five minutes, we began to seriously worry that it was a stuffed lynx set out as a practical joke.  Then it stirred itself and strolled across the road and into the woods.  It was tall and lean with a short black tail.

We guessed it weighed about 40 pounds (although males average 22 pounds, so the excitement may have made us over-estimate), with feet like small frisbees for running on the snow.

A Better Photo of a Lynx Taken by the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Lynx tend to avoid people so I’ve included the picture I took with my  iPhone (above left).  It clearly proves that we saw a lynx, or possibly a tree stump, an extremely large marmot, or the Loch Ness Monster.

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Published: September 7, 2011