June 13 From the Colorado Division of Wildlife called DOW Insider Debbie's comment- The bobcat (lynx) population is on the raise in Iowa; but, still on the endangered species list. It has been up for delisting and was not delisted. Several people in the Sierra Club wrote comments during the delisting comment period. Iowa DNR continues to work on understanding the situation in Iowa. Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) researchers discovered two more lynx dens in southwestern Colorado. Each of the dens contained three lynx kittens. This brings the total number of lynx kittens born in Colorado this spring to fourteen, by five different females. According to Tanya Shenk, The DOW s lead lynx researcher; the fourth den to be found in Colorado was discovered on a steep, isolated slope with heavy downfall on Wednesday, June 11. It contained two female kittens and one male. The kitten s eyes were closed and ears were open and they looked to be in great condition. The female lynx, which bore the kittens, was released as part of the reintroduction effort on March 19, 1999. The male mate is assumed to be one of the reintroduced lynx that lost its radio signal collar. The fifth den to be found in Colorado was discovered on Thursday, June 12. It contained two males and one female kitten. Again, the eyes were closed but the kitten s ears were open and the kittens looked to be in excellent condition. The female, which bore these kittens, was released in 2000 and its male mate was also released in 2000. Both dens were located above 10,000 feet in Engelmann Spruce stands. According to Gary Miller, research leader for the DOW, the additional kittens are a tremendous step forward for the reintroduction program. The researcher are still beaming, said Miller. They have really poured their heart and soul into the program and it is nice to see it pay off. It has been a long time coming and it just goes to show that sometimes it takes time for animals to acclimate. Researchers PIT tagged all of the kittens and took hair samples. At both dens, the females left the kittens once researchers got closer than 15 feet to the den. In both cases the mother returned to close proximity of the den and growled while researchers processed the kittens. The reintroduction of lynx in Colorado began in 1999. To date 129 lynx have been released with an additional 130 lynx expected to be released before 2007. The lynx reintroduction program is primarily funded by Colorado Lottery money through the Great Outdoors Colorado Program and by the DOW s Nongame and Endangered Species Checkoff on the Colorado income tax form. Additional funding is necessary to continue the program. The Colorado Wildlife Heritage Foundation is working to raise money to keep the program successful. To learn more about helping the lynx recovery in Colorado, call the Heritage Foundation at (303) 291-7238. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]