In Minnesota, a man driving through a parking lot was startled by a noise. The citizen heard what sounded like an animal crying.
He took a closer look and found a lone kitten. He couldn’t bring himself to leave the baby alone in the parking lot, so he decided to take it home.
After spending some time with the cat, which was a female, the observant man notices a few interesting details.
He started to ponder whether his protégé was a domestic cat breed. So, to clear his doubts once and for all, he phoned the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota to get additional information on his cat.
Not what he thought
Following a discussion, the Wildlife Center suggested they send a member to inspect the cat and take the appropriate measures. Twenty-four hours later, a Rehabilitation Center member came to the man’s house to meet the kitten.
As it turns out, our rescuer’s suspicions were not wrong, but they weren’t entirely correct either. The feline definitely didn’t belong to a domestic cat breed. In fact, she was no kitten at all.
Imagine the good samaritan’s surprise when the Wildlife professional announced his rescued cat was actually a red lynx, also known as a bobcat!
Because the baby lynx had been found in a potentially dangerous location and was far from her mother, the association opted to care for her rather than quickly release her back into the wild. They announced on their Instagram page :
“She’ll spend a few days here stabilizing then we’ll transfer her to another rehabber who works with bobcats.”
The center also wanted to remind the public of the right attitude when discovering a wild animal. The animal should always be entrusted to a specialized agency so that it can be released as soon as possible and does not lose its marks. It is also necessary to always check that its mother is not nearby.
Lynxes and bobcats
The lynx is a small, stocky feline, easily recognizable by the full sideburns on its head, the brushes (tufts of black hair) on its ears, and its short, black-tipped tail. Its coat, diet, reproductive behavior, and population vary according to geographical areas.
Although the lynx population is generally stable, it remains the most endangered cat species in the world.
The lynx is a ferocious predator yet is smaller and less threatening than other big cats. It is, however, significantly larger than domestic cats.
According to the Animals Network, the Bobcat is a lynx species in the Felidae family. The Eurasian, Canadian, and Iberian lynxes are their closest relatives.
This species can be found all over North America, from southern Canada to Mexico.