Recent Records of Lynx on the Alaska Peninsula

Abstract

The Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) is poorly documented in southwest Alaska, where dominant habitats are generally not conducive to supporting persistent Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus) or Lynx populations. We compiled recent and historic records from southwest Alaska that collectively suggest that persistent Lynx populations occur at the base of the Alaska Peninsula where boreal forest transitions to open tundra habitats. Records show that Lynx, at least periodically, also occur throughout the entirety of the Alaska Peninsula and that a self-sustaining and relatively isolated population occurs in an isolated stand of Poplar forest near Mother Goose Lake, which probably represents one of the westernmost Lynx populations in North America. These records extend the known distribution of the species by approximately 380 km southwest along the Alaska Peninsula. These records also suggest that Lynx occur in areas where Snowshoe Hare are rare or absent, and that other prey species may facilitate the persistence of distinct population segments at the extent of their range in Alaska.