Rare Lynx Denied ‘Endangered’ Label

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refused to declare the Canada lynx an endangered species but acknowledged that the elusive cat has suffered significant population loss. The unusual move, confirming the animal’s dire situation while refusing to protect it under the Endangered Species Act, drew quick criticism from environmentalists. The Canada lynx is the only lynx left in North America, and its population “has decreased significantly in the Lower 48 states,” said Ralph Morgenweck, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Denver regional office. Thousands of lynx, which is about the size of a bobcat, remain in Alaska and Canada, but biologists estimate there are only a few hundred in the Lower 48 states.