Colo. claims victory in effort to bring back lynx

This January 2006 photo provided by the Colorado Division of Wildlife shows a lynx in the San Juan Mountains south of Creede, Colo. Colorado wildlife officials are declaring victory in their 11-year effort to reintroduce lynx to the state. The Division of Wildlife said Friday Sept. 17, 2010 that the cats are reproducing faster than they’re dying, a sign of a self-sustaining population. (AP Photo/Colorado Division of Wildlife)

DENVER — Colorado wildlife officials are declaring victory in their 11-year effort to reintroduce lynx to the state.

The Division of Wildlife said Friday that the cats are reproducing faster than they’re dying, a sign of a self-sustaining population.

Colorado’s native lynx died out in the early 1970s because of trapping, poisoning and development.

Wildlife officers began reintroducing them in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado by releasing lynx that were captured in Alaska and Canada.

By 2006, 218 cats had been brought in. Researchers say at least 141 lynx kittens have been born since 2003, including at least 14 this year.

No estimate is available for the state’s total lynx population, partly because the animals live in remote wilderness areas.

bigcatrescue.org