Just another day in the Yukon… or so we thought! We were told that we were in for a surprise on our third day in the Yukon. We knew we would be going to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve and that there was a special tour set up for our group. What we didn’t know was that Niel Zeller had arranged for us to enter the lynx and arctic fox enclosures during feeding time. A rare treat for anyone!
At one point I thought I might even be lunch for the lynx – Mama was looking right at me and at only about 10 feet away I was hoping that the caretaker was paying close attention. I’m not bragging when I say that I would most likely appear to be a much tastier meal to the lynx than the morsels of chicken backs on offer!
There were three beautiful lynx in the enclosure. One male, a female mama and her daughter. The animals in a preserve are most often injured and once brought back to health are either released back into the wild or, if they are unable to care for themselves in the wild, are kept to live out their natural lives on the preserve.
I believe this is the daughter. I wish now that I had paid closer attention to the identity of the three. The daughter and mother came from one direction, were very curious and looked very similar. The male was much more aloof (or careful, more likely) and stayed well back. He was missing a leg from an accident and I did not get any really good pictures as far as I know.
Look at those paws!
This is the mother / daughter pair. Our caretaker was putting the chicken backs up in a crook in the tree and these lovelies climbed up quick as cats and leaped down with their prize. This is the only picture I got that showed off the little bobbed tails of the lynx. I was so intent on making sure I got the ear tufts (SO many pictures without the tufts!) that I missed out on their adorable tails. By the way, all the pics of the lynx where I missed the tufts look just like my girlfriend’s house cat – Note to self (or anyone else getting lynx photos) – make sure you get the tufts especially but the tails help too!
Two more of these beauties and then I shall move on to other wildlife
I hope you love these beautiful creatures as much as I do! AND that you like my photos. I am so grateful that Niel and the Yukon Wildlife Preserve were able to arrange this special photo experience for all of us.
Yes I do like your photos – lovely collection of animals. Cheers, Sean
Oh, thanks so much Sean. I absolutely love your posts as well.