PORTAGE LAKE, Maine — Rewards of up to $5,500 are being offered for information leading to a conviction in each of two cases involving a Canada lynx found shot dead in November in Oxford and Aroostook counties.
It is illegal to shoot Canada lynx, which are listed as a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
One adult male lynx is believed to have been shot with a rifle on or about Nov. 15 on a logging road near Aziscohos Lake in western Maine near the New Hampshire border, Maine Warden Service Cpl. John MacDonald said in a press release issued Friday.
That lynx was wearing a GPS collar that had been put on it in 2015 by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife as part of an ongoing three-year population and range study being conducted by the agency, MacDonald said.
The second lynx was found shot dead on Nov. 17 alongside a logging road in Township 14 Range 7 west of Portage Lake in Aroostook County.
That incident was reported to the Maine Warden Service “after a concerned sportsman discovered the shot lynx in a legally-set foothold trap,” the press release said.
Maine Operation Game Thief is offering a reward of $2,500 to anyone with information that leads to a conviction of the person or persons responsible in either case. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward of up to $2,500 and the Maine Trappers Association another $500 for the same in each case.
A 2006 Canada lynx population survey by Maine DIF&W estimated the population between 750 and 1,000 adult lynx in their core range of northern Maine.
Agency biologists believe that the results of the study will reflect their belief that Canada lynx are increasing in population and expanding their range in Maine, according to MacDonald.
“Vehicle accidents involving Canada lynx, sightings of lynx, and verified lynx tracks are increasing in number and location,” he said in the release. “A record number of Canada Lynx, 11, have been killed by vehicles in 2016.”
A federal judge also will soon decide whether enough is being done in Maine to protect the Canada lynx from being killed or injured by trappers. U.S. District Judge Jon Levy heard arguments in early November in cross motions for summary judgment in the most recent legal skirmish over the Canada lynx. In August 2015, wildlife and animal welfare groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Wildlife Alliance of Maine and the Animal Welfare Institute, sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for allegedly failing to enforce rules protecting Canada lynx from being killed or injured.
Anyone with information about either shooting can call Maine Operation Game Thief at 800-ALERT-US or 287-6057 or the Maine public safety dispatch center in Bangor at 800-432-7381 or 973-3700.
Unlawfully killing a Canada lynx can lead to a fine of up to $100,000 and or imprisonment up to one year.
BDN writer Judy Harrison contributed to this report.