Although the number of new kittens is down this year, the exceptionally good news is that one of our Colorado-born kittens (born to a translocated cat) gave birth to her own kittens this year.  This marks another critical milestone in our lynx recovery effort (lynx babies growing up and having their own lynx babies).  Colorado Division of Wildlife reports a total of eleven known lynx kittens this year, down from 50, 39, and 16 in the previous three years.  The biologists don’t know why the numbers dropped so much this year, but Tanya Shenk – the lead CDOW researcher – told the Associated Press about one possible explanation: the more recent releases of adult cats might be disrupting the population’s social structure.

We saw pretty good news coverage of the story, including a good article in the Denver Post, another in the Grand Junction Sentinel, and Associated Press wire story that ran in the Washington Post and elsewhere (including, curiously enough, the Malaysia Star).  As we pointed out to the Denver Post, in addition to whatever factors might have led to the decline in reproduction this year, it is also very clear that we must also protect important lynx habitat if we really hope to recover this magnificent native cat.  To date, federal agencies have adamantly refused to take key steps.  The Forest Service is now years behind in adopting its promised lynx conservation plan for the region, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has essentially promised that they will not designate any critical lynx habitat in the Southern Rockies.