Help save the Lynx!

[mousie]

I just took action to save the endangered lynx and I hope you will, too.

Fewer than 1,000 lynx are left in the lower 48 states, thanks to trapping, logging and agriculture. That's why I believe strongly that all lands currently occupied by lynx or important to lynx recovery should be designated as critical habitat, regardless of how they are currently being managed.

I urge you to take action yourself and spread the word! Just visit the website below to send your own message:

http://action.defenders.org/lynxcomments

[rumpel]

1. Also the endangered species. That one needs another 50,000.

[sasha031]

2. done

I contribute to the Defenders of Wildlife Foundation....I hate this so much seeing beautiful animals destroyed..:cry:

[wicket]

3. My sister and I saw one a couple of years ago (in Vermont)

I was so shocked, and amazed at its beauty. I've added my name to this and sent it to my friends!

[tatertop]

5. I am very jealous

Did you get a good look at those giant paws
and that fabulous ruff?

[Lorien]

7. You can play with a couple of them here:

www.bigcatrescue.com

They have quite a few, but I think only two that you can play with in their pen. They're about the size of a labrador-with disproportionately huge feet! Most of their lynx were rescued from fur farms.

[tatertop]

10. I've cared for orphaned/rescued wild cats

Never seen one in the wild though.

That place you list has a very interesting past - to say the least.
Anyway, I wish they would stop allowing the public to touch those cats.
They used to have a caracal, bobcats and lynx available for public
molestation. It makes the cats crabby and gives the public the
idea that these cats DO make good pets. For most people they
do not make good pets. Some wild cat species make
wonderful lifelong companions but the comittment must be all consuming
and the human must be prepared for a radical change in lifestyle.

Those petting cats they have are all declawed and, as I recall, most had their fangs ground down in an act of hideous abuse by the previous owners.

[wicket]

12. Rescue habitat

As I said in my other post- I have also seen the Lynx in a rescue habitat- fortunately they did not allow anyone to touch the cats. Wish I could remember the name of the place- we visited it on a field trip when I was kid growing up in Vermont. I'll have to ask my Grampa as he was chaperone when we went :D

[Lorien]

14. They only allow contact with 2-6 visitors per day

and it's on the cat's terms. If the cat doesn't want visitors, they don't get them. Most run to the gate and can't wait for pets and a bit of playtime, but if they stay in a shelter or high on a rock, the volunteers pass them by. I didn't notice any ground down fangs-and I took a lot of photos of yawning cats. The volunteers also stress that they make terrible pets-something I certainly agree with. (I do pet rescue and I recently cared for a half serval/ half bengal in my home for several weeks. I finally insisted that the original owner take responsibility for the animal, because it would not re-bond to another human being and was becoming dangerous).

I think they do an admirable job caring for abandoned circus animals and exotic "pets". Some of those animals were bottle raised and crave human contact, so I don't feel that supervised visits are at all bad. The rest enjoy "enrichment" provided by visitors; when you watch a pair of leopards leaping and bounding around their enclosure with a treat packet that you've just made for them, you can't help but feel that it's a positive experience for the animal.

[tatertop]

15. When I was there last they ran BUSLOADS of people

through the petting-cat-enclosures.
Too much.

[Lorien]

17. When was that? I was there off and on throughout the past six years

and they had a strict policy about how many people were allowed in the enclosures per day. I know that things were different in the past, but go to their web site-or call them. I've never seen "busloads" of people at Wildlife on Easy street-not once. I saw a group of six people being given a tour; maybe they came in a mini bus?

Can you provide proof of "public molestation"? I have the email address of the owner and have spoken with her several times. She is entirely committed to her animals and has worked tirelessly to outlaw exotic pet ownership. Visitors are given a brief course in proper etiquette around the cats, cannot enter an enclosure unattended, and are banned from the sanctuary if they break the rules. If you have evidence that any cats were "molested" when you visited, then I'm certain that the staff would like to know about it.

[tatertop]

18. They give school tours.

I was there last about two years ago
for three full days.

[Lorien]

24. School tours??? You realize that no child under twelve is allowed on

the premises. Check the website.

Sorry, but I'm just not buying it. For the record; Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida allows small groups of six or fewer on day tours which are heavily supervised. Activities include feeding the cats, creating enrichment for the cats, and interacting with up to three species of cats (those who are willing and desire human companionship). The object of these tours is to educate the public about the need to protect these animals from the pet trade, fur trade, canned hunts, and extinction. This is a reputable organization that works tirelessly to ensure that wild cats HAVE a future on the planet, and they DO NOT deserve this kind of slander.

[tatertop]

25. You said: "They only allow contact with 2-6 visitors per day"

That is not true.
I never said they do not help rehab cats.
I never said they don't do some good.
What I said was, I disagree with giving the general public
'hands on' access to caged wild cats, under any conditions.
I let them know that when I was there. As I understood it,
they were discussing the discontinuation of the program at that time.
I have no idea whether or not you can still pay money
to gain hands on access to wild cats. If so, I am still against it.

Accusing me of slander is just plain silly.
We have a difference of opinion, so be it.

[wicket]

11. Got a very good look

My sister and I stopped dead in our tracks and just stared at him/her. We were both pretty shocked. I'd seen them before in one of those rescue type places described by another poster but never in the wild like that- absolutely gorgeous. I hope they can mount a comeback.

[tatertop]

13. I used to fly fish in lynx country

All over. Never saw a lynx, bobcat, cougar, bear,
or rattlesnack.

[tatertop]

4. Done

[Lorien]

6. Done n/t

[donheld]

8. Done

:bounce:

[The Stranger]

9. Will always help.

Fight back. Fight on.

16. done

Animals have rights too!

[AuntiBush]

19. Heartbreaking

How do we save them, when we've no legit gov that gives a damn, less it's for the Almighty $.

Heartwrenching...

[montana500]

20. The Bush admin sunk the full lynx habitat plan

Then several conservation groups filed a lawsuit and won some of the plan back....

[leftchick]

21. Gladly!

Thank you!



One of the most glorious creatures on earth.

[mousie]

23. I agree!! :)

[Beaverhausen]

22. Done

[undergroundpanther]

26. Dunnit!