That’s No Bobcat: Confirmed Sighting of Rare Animal in Vermont

A man spotted a rare wild cat, a Canada lynx, in Vermont. Though lynxes are native to the area, they’re elusive. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says the state is on the southernmost edge of the Canada lynx’s range, and the wild cat is endangered in Vermont and threatened nationally.

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Gary Shattuck was the one who saw the animal walking along the side of the road in Rutland County this past weekend, but he didn’t have his iPhone on him to take a photo or video. Remarkably, Shattuck drove home to get his device, came back, and the lynx was still there, walking along the road. He initially thought it was a skinny bobcat, but then Shattuck realized he was looking at something else.

Shattuck captured photos and videos of the mysterious animal and sent them to wildlife authorities. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department confirmed it is indeed a Canada lynx, and it’s the first confirmed sighting of this rare animal in Vermont since 2018.

Brehan Furfey, wildlife biologist and furbearer project leader with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, said any verifiable lynx sighting in Vermont is important. “This newest sighting is especially exciting because the cat was spotted in Rutland County, far south of most confirmed lynx reports in Vermont,” Furfey said.

In the United States, Furfey says lynx are more common in areas of New Hampshire and Maine. Though people have reported lynx sightings to the department over 160 times since 2016, only seven were verifiable.

“The large majority of photographs our biologists receive are bobcats,” said Furfey. 

Watch a Canada lynx walk along the side of the road in Vermont here:

Stunning Trail-Cam Footage Shows Closeup of Elusive Canada Lynx