HOWELL, Mich. — Imagine looking out your window and seeing an animal that hasn't been seen in the area in more than a century.
That happened last weekend when a farmer saw a lynx feeding on some geese.
The lynx was captured in Harbor Beach, in Michigan's Thumb region, on Sunday. From there, the Department of Natural Resources transported it to the Howell Nature Center. Staff was both excited and shocked to see it.
"My first reaction was, it's got to be a bobcat. But it's the DNR, and it did turn out to be a genuine, confirmed lynx," said Howell Nature Center Director of Wildlife & Education Dana DeBenham.
The DNR said a lynx was spotted about 30 miles away in February, and it could be the same one. They said that because the animal is a federally threatened species, they discussed the animal with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and decided to move it to the Howell Nature Center.
"We were a bit worried that the lynx was displaying odd behavior. The farmer could come up within 15 to 20 feet from it, that it was staying right in his backyard. In our opinion, it wasn't behaving normally," said DNR Endangered Species Coordinator Dan Kennedy.
The DNR and the Nature Center said they aren't sure if the lynx was wild or an illegal pet, but capturing it was the best way to find out what to do with it.
"If it was held in captivity, then we'll likely try to keep it in captivity, and if it was wild, then we will release it," Kennedy said.
"We had a bobcat brought to us by the DNR back in 2007 and it's neutered and declawed. So we want to make sure that this poor lynx is not out there trying to fend for itself without all the tools and survival skills that a wild animal needs," DeBenham said. "If they determine it to be healthy, it's going right back out there."
According to the Nature Center, the lynx is doing great and is calm. Right now, both agencies are letting it relax after a stressful past few days.
"It is rare and it's unique and it's been a lot of fun. We're excited and we want to put the animal first and make sure the animal is healthy and we do the right thing for the lynx," Kennedy added.
The Nature Center says additional resources are needed for a physical and behavioral assessment, so the lynx will be transferred to the Detroit Zoological Society later this week.
The last confirmed lynx sighting in the Lower Peninsula was in 1917. There have been two sightings in the last 15 years in the Upper Peninsula.
