A Canadian Lynx trapped near the northern tip of Michigan's thumb was the first Lynx caught in the Lower Peninsula since 1917.

The Lynx was caught after it had killed a goose near Harbor Beach on Sunday. The big cat was soft trapped alive, making it the first Lynx ever caught alive in the state.

The owner of the land that cat was caught on had reported that several of his geese had been killed by an animal and contacted a trapper, Jordan Cook, to try and take it alive after watching it take down another goose.

"It's very unusual to have lynx in the Lower Peninsula," said Jim Zelenak, species lead for Canada lynx for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told the Huron Daily Tribune. "I think there were six verified records historically...in the Lower Peninsula. One was in the 1850s or 1860s, and then in the early 1900s, there were five of them trapped along the Au Sable River all in the same year, and that would suggest a flush of animals coming from the north."

The Department of Natural Resources took the animal Monday morning. The Lynx is currently at the DNR's Wildlife Center in Howell. Later, it will be sent to the Detroit Zoo for an examination.

"We're just letting it relax and de-stress because it's been through a lot in the last couple of days," Wildlife Center Director Dana DeBenham told the Port Huron Times Herald. "It appears rather calm, but that could be because it could have been kept as a pet or it might be young and not have fully developed that sense of fear of humans."

Earlier this winter, a homeowner near Lexington, some 50 miles south of Harbor Beach posted footage of a Lynx in their yard to Facebook. The DNR says it's hard to say whether it's the same cat.

On Reddit, the trappers family posted a photo of the cat shortly after it was trapped, prompting a discussion. As of now, the DNR plans to wait for the Detroit Zoo's exam before possibly relocating it to a more remote region.

 

 

 

 

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