New lynx at the Woodland Park Zoo are ready for the public

Seattle — Three new lynx are now viewable to the public in the Woodland Park Zoo’s Living Northwest Trail.

The Canada lynx were shipped across the United States before making a home in Seattle last year. Yukon came from Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo, Monty from Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo and Marty from the Minnesota Zoo. Each lynx is three years old, according to the Woodland Park Zoo.

They live in a new exhibit with elaborate pathways and branches that allow them to move through the entire habitat, the zoo said.

Monty and Yukon were recently renamed by friends of the zoo, who are generous supporters of the zoo’s wildlife conservation efforts. Their names were inspired by the mighty Yukon River in Canada and Montreal, the zoo said.

Globally, lynx have a low risk of extinction but are endangered in Washington State, according to the zoo. Lynx rely on healthy forests and snowpacks to hunt their prey. Climate change is reducing snowfall and causing wildfires, making their prey scarce, the zoo said.

Woodland Park Zoo said they are studying lynx and wolverines to help recover populations in the Cascades. The zoo restores species through its Living Northwest Program. They also provide visitors with actions they can take to help conserve these species on their We Are Living Northwest website.

For more information about the Woodland Park Zoo, visit www.zoo.org or call 206-548-2500.

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