No lynx kittens found in Colorado for second year in row

Wildlife managers monitoring Colorado’s lynx reintroduction program say they found no newborn kittens in 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 division says the lack of lynx births may be related to a decline in the number of snowshoe hares, the primary prey of lynx.

Colorado’s native lynx disappeared in the early 1970s because of trapping, poisoning and development. The state began reintroducing them from Canada in 1997.

Since 2003, the new lynx population as produced at least 116 kittens.