Gary Shattuck was driving home from running errands on Saturday when he spotted a large feline walking along the roadside. Initially, he thought it might be a bobcat or even a cheetah, but it turned out to be something much rarer—a Canada lynx, which is an endangered species, strolling down a rural road in Shrewsbury, Vermont.
This sighting marks the first confirmed appearance of a Canada lynx in Vermont since 2018, as reported by wildlife biologist Brehan Furfey from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
Shattuck recounted to The Washington Post that he was about ten feet away from the lynx when he saw it around 6:30 PM on Saturday. “It looked malnourished but didn’t make a sound. It didn’t even acknowledge or look at me,” he noted.
Adult Canada lynx can measure between two and a half to three feet in length and weigh between 15 to 30 pounds, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Shattuck, safely inside his car, attempted to communicate with the lynx by saying, “Hey, are you okay?” While the animal’s ears perked up, it continued walking. He bid the lynx farewell before heading home, saying, “I’ll leave you alone, have a good night. So long.”
“I’ve lived here almost 50 years. I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Shattuck, who is 73 years old.
Concerned about the lynx’s condition, he recorded a short video of the animal and sent it to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, mentioning that the feline appeared too thin. Several of his neighbors also witnessed the wildcat.
According to Furfey, “Canada lynx are endangered in Vermont and threatened nationally,” making any verified sightings in the state significant.
Wild breeding populations of the Canada lynx are primarily found in regions such as northern Maine, northern New Hampshire, northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Montana, northern Idaho, north-central Washington, and western Colorado, as stated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The lynx resembles a bobcat but can be distinguished by its long black ear tufts and a short black-tipped tail, as well as its large paws and long hind legs, which are advantageous for hunting snowshoe hares in snowy environments.
Furfey speculated that the lynx Shattuck encountered was a male traveling through the area in search of its territory, a behavior referred to as “dispersing.” Due to their ability to travel long distances quickly, Furfey indicated that the lynx is no longer in Vermont.