Lynx getting pushed out of southern New Brunswick as bobcats move in
Scientists in New Brunswick are studying the evolving population of two large cat species.
Lynx have traditionally called all of the province home, but that dominance is being challenged by the bobcat.
Bobby Nakamoto, co-author of a study exploring the relationship between the two species, said bobcats are moving further into the province and may be driving the lynx population northward.
"If you drive all the way up to the northern border of New Brunswick and you look all over the place, you will see probably 100 per cent lynx," said Nakamoto.
"In the very southern part of New Brunswick, we no longer have strong populations of lynx, and you will only find bobcats there."
Climate change
One factor for this fight for territory could be climate change says Nakamoto.
The bobcat is found throughout the United States and Mexico so is used to a range of temperatures.
But the lynx is found mostly in Canada, where it has adapted to deeper snow and colder winters.
More bobcats are moving into the province, especially in southern regions, researchers say. (CBC)
Warmer New Brunswick winters, especially in southern areas of the province, could be contributing to an environment where lynx are heading north.
"As the climate continues to change, we imagine that the northern parts of New Brunswick will continue to become less and less snowy," said Nakamoto.
"You'll keep moving lynx further and further north until there's no further north to go for the lynx and we'll only have bobcat within New Brunswick, which would be a sorry loss for the province."
Food
Another area where the lynx may be at a disadvantage is the quest for food.
Nakamoto said samples studied indicate wherever the lynx live in the province, they subsist largely on snowshoe hares.
With bobcats it's a bit different. Where there are no lynx, bobcats eat mostly snowshoe hares but where the populations cohabitate, the bobcat has a more diverse diet.
Lynx have traditionally called all of New Brunswick home, but that dominance is being challenged. (Submitted Arielle DeMerchant)
Nakamoto said this isn't uncommon.
"Wherever you find them, they're eating strange new things. You know, they've sampled these cats in the desert and they're eating lizards," said Nakamoto.
But a reckoning could be on the horizon for both the bobcat and the lynx.
Nakamoto said even with their varied diet, about 50 per cent of a bobcat's nutrition comes from the hares.
Lynx and snowshoe hare have a cyclical relationship, where their populations increase and decrease with each other.
Simply put, if there are fewer hares to eat, then some lynx die off, which allows for the hare population to rebound, which in turn allows for the lynx population to grow.
Nakamoto said it's unclear what more bobcats will do to this relationship.
"It may be more and more difficult for the hare populations to recover, which in turn could be really rough on the lynx and bobcat populations," said Nakamoto.
