A trail camera in a Minnesota forest captured an intense scene between two elusive but fiercely territorial predators.
The video, shared by Northern News Now, was taken by a trail camera at the Chik-Wauk Nature Center and Museum in northern Minnesota. (Viewers are advised to turn down the volume before watching the video, as it shows a pair of lynxes getting into a heated verbal altercation.)
The two big cats let it all out in a series of ear-piercing screams. The video ends with a close-up of the presumed winner, who shows a little flick of his tail before walking out of sight.
As the name suggests, Canada lynx are found throughout Canada and are marked by the IUCN Red List as “least concern” as much of their historic range remains intact. However, the American population is small and scattered — still only about 200 in northern Minnesota. Due to their elusive nature and nocturnal hunting habits, they are very rarely seen in the United States.
Sometimes mistaken for the bobcat (which is part of the lynx family), the easiest way to tell the animals apart is the lynx’s distinctive ear tufts and oversized feet. Like bobcats, lynxes play an important role in the boreal ecosystem. They protect forests directly by keeping prey populations under control and indirectly through the “ecology of fear,” according to Rewilding Britain. Essentially, the strong scent of the lynx’s urine and feces keeps its prey moving and prevents it from overgrazing.
The footage shot shows the utility of trail cameras to seamlessly monitor an area’s wildlife. Lynxes are generally solitary animals, so observing a territorial dispute can be valuable to researchers seeking to better understand their behavior.
This type of footage can also be helpful to draw an accurate picture of species numbers, thus better informing conservation measures at the local level. Trail cameras are a key tool in measuring the progress of reintroduction efforts as well.
The video’s commentators were quite amused by the verbal jousting. “It kind of sounds like my kids in the car,” one commenter joked. Another viewer said, “Imagine walking through the woods alone at night and hearing this!” A similar comment added, “This is freaky.”
One viewer noted that the lynx’s resemblance to the bobcat went beyond appearance: “Kind of sounds like bobcats. Awesome catch on trail cam.”
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