A trail camera in a Minnesota forest captured an intense scene between two elusive but fiercely territorial predators.
The clip, shared by Northern News Now, was taken from a trail camera at the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center in northern Minnesota. (Viewers are advised to lower the volume before watching the video, as it shows a pair of lynxes getting into a loud verbal tussle.)
Both of the big cats let it all out in a series of ear-piercing screams. The video ends with a close-up of the presumed victor, showing a little flick of its tail before it slinks out of view.
As the name suggests, Canada lynxes are found all across Canada and are marked by the IUCN Red List as "least concern" as much of their historic range remains intact. However, the American population is small and scattered — only around 200 remain in northern Minnesota. Because of their elusive nature and nocturnal hunting habits, they're very seldom seen in the United States.
Sometimes mistaken for the bobcat (which is part of the lynx family), the easiest way to tell the animals apart is the lynx's distinctive ear tufts and oversized paws. Like bobcats, lynxes play an important role in the boreal ecosystem. They protect the forests directly by keeping prey populations under control and indirectly through the "ecology of fear," according to Rewilding Britain. Essentially, the pungent scent of the lynx's urine and feces keeps its prey on the move and prevents overgrazing.
The footage captured shows the utility of trail cameras for unobtrusively monitoring an area's wildlife. Lynxes are usually solitary animals, so observing a territorial dispute could be valuable to researchers seeking to better understand their behavior.
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This type of footage can also be helpful in shaping an accurate picture of the species' numbers, thereby better informing conservation measures at the local level. Trail cameras are a key tool in measuring the progress of reintroduction efforts too.
The video's commenters were quite amused by the verbal joust. "It kind of sounds like my kids in the car," one commenter joked. Another viewer said, "Imagine walking through the woods alone at night and hearing this!" A similar comment added, "That is freaky."
One viewer noted the lynx's similarity to the bobcat went beyond looks: "Kind of sounds like bobcats. Awesome catch on the trail cam."
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