NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Barbara Russo: 718-265-3428; 917-494-5493; brusso@wcs.org

Max Pulsinelli: 718-220-5182; 571-218-7601; mpulsinelli@wcs.org

Steve Fairchild: 718-220-5189; sfairchild@wcs.org

New Canada Lynx Debuts at WCS’s Queens Zoo

Photos: http://bit.ly/2iEr7jf (Credit: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS): 

Flushing, N.Y. – Jan. 5, 2017 – A female Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) has arrived at WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) Queens Zoo and is making her public debut. 

The female lynx came to Queens from the Minnesota Zoo, and will be paired for breeding with a male already living at the Queens Zoo as a recommendation of the Canada lynx Species Survival Plan (SSP), a cooperative breeding program designed to enhance the genetic viability of animal populations in zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Canada lynx are medium-sized cats that have thick grayish-brown coats and pointed tufts on their ears.  Their oversized paws are covered in dense fur and act as snowshoes to prevent them from sinking in deep snow in their native habitats. Their range spans Alaska, Canada, and portions of the northern and western United States.

Canada lynx populations are healthy in some portions of their historic range. They are classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a species of Least Concern.

In the United States, they are protected under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species.  Their numbers have declined due to trapping for their coats and timber harvesting which has altered habitat and significantly reduced the population of the snowshoe hare, the primary prey.  WCS works around the world and within the lynx’s North American range to save wildlife and their habitats.

For more information or to speak with a WCS expert, contact Barbara Russo at 917-494-5493, 718-265-3428, or brusso@wcs.org.

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo – Open every day of the year. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors 65 and older, $5 for kids 3-12, free for children under 3. Zoo hours are 10am to 5pm weekdays, and 10am – 5:30pm weekends, April through October, and 10am – 4:30pm daily, November through April. The Queens Zoo is located at 53-51 111th Street in Flushing Meadow’s Corona Park in Queens. For further information, call 718-271-1500 or visit www.queenszoo.com.

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.

###