A UBC student is asking East Kootenay residents to send him any recent pictures of bobcats or lynx for a project on mapping project on the habitats of both species.
Lynx are found in boreal forests across Canada and Alaska, as well as in the mountain ranges extending south into Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.
Bobcats, in contrast, are found in deserts and grasslands of the contiguous United States, as well as in southern Canada.
TJ Gooliaff, a biologist in training at the UBC Okanagan campus, is hypothesizing that climate change is bobcats have moved northwards and into higher elevations due to climate change, which is leading to earlier springs and lower snow levels in western North America.
Gooliaff is looking for any kinds of photos from trail cameras to conventional pictures that should include as specific location information as possible, such as UTM or longitude/latitude coordinates. Barring that, any roads or landmark, nearest town or watershed or Management Unit would be appreciated.
Photos can be emailed to Gooliaff at: tj.gooliaff@ubc.ca