January 25, 2013
By Laura Roady, BonnersFerryHerald.com
BONNERS FERRY — Lynx in northern Idaho are very uncommon and distinguishing them from bobcats can be difficult.
A Boundary County man recently learned the hard way the importance of knowing how to tell a bobcat from a lynx when he mistakenly killed a lynx in one of his traps. Lynx are classified as threatened and protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The unidentified individual said he would have released the animal from the trap had he known it was a lynx, but he could not see the animal’s paws because of snow.
He immediately reported the incident to the local conservation officer and pleaded guilty in state court to mistakenly trapping and harvesting a lynx.
He was fined $200 and ordered to pay $25 restitution to Idaho Fish and Game and $160 in court costs.