The Maine Wildlife Park hopes to educate the public on the dangers to the species.
By The Associated Press
GRAY
The Maine Wildlife Park has taken possession of three baby lynx in hopes of teaching people about the threatened status of the animal.

The park put the baby lynx on display in their new habitat for the first time Wednesday.

“All the animals are at the park for educational purposes,” said Lisa Kane, an educator with the Maine Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, which operates the park. “We hope to expand the amount of information that we have on the three cats.”

The lynx is listed as a threatened species in the lower 48 states under the federal Endangered Species Act.

It wasn’t even known for sure if Maine had a lynx population in the wild until four years ago, when the Department of Inland and Wildlife began studying lynx in far northern Maine. The lynx population was documented when researchers found a den with two kittens.

The golden brown kittens, two males and a female, are part of a litter of five that were born in captivity at the private Charmingfare Farm in Candia, N.H.

The farm traded the Canada lynx for a fisher cat and a porcupine from the park.

Because the kittens were born in captivity, they are unable to live in the wild on their own, officials said.

Park officials said exhibiting the lynx will help people identify them in the wild and be less inclined to hurt the animals if they know more about them.

“We want people to understand that when they see a lynx in the wild they should not be hunted like a bobcat,” Kane said. “They should only be shot with a camera.”

Educators at the park also hope the lynx will give people the opportunity to see a rare animal.

“It’s not something you really see in the wild,” said park education coordinator Maureen Gilbert. “It’s a really special treat for kids to see lynx.”

The new lynx join an older female lynx at the park that will be taken off exhibit.