DENVER—Wildlife managers monitoring Colorado’s lynx reintroduction program say they found no newborn kittens for the second year in a row.
The state Division of Wildlife said Friday the news was disappointing but that the adult lynx population is stable and adapting well to Colorado.
The lack of lynx births may be related to a decline in the number of snowshoe hares, the primary prey of lynx, the division said. The lynx appear to be finding enough food to survive, but females may not be getting the nutrition they need to sustain pregnancy, division biologists said.
Colorado’s native lynx disappeared in the early 1970s because of trapping, poisoning and development. The Division of Wildlife began planning to reintroduce them from Canada in 1997.
Since 1999, 218 lynx have been released in Colorado, and at least 116 kittens have been born.
Researchers have not been able to monitor all the animals, since radio transmitter collars for 59 of the lynx that were released are no longer functioning, and most kittens are not collared.
Of the lynx released since 1999, 109 have died.
