During the summer of 2012 MBI crews deployed remote cameras along roads and trails in northern Idaho's Purcell and Selkirk mountain ranges. Our goal was to obtain images of lynx. Idaho's State Wildlife Action Plan recommends several conservation actions for this species which include gathering basic information on where it occurs. We successfully obtained images of lynx at three separate camera sets. All of the lynx images were obtained in Idaho's Purcell Mountains within the geographic area the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated as critical habitat for lynx. We also got some great shots of other animal species!
Both of these pictures of a lynx (above) and bobcat (below) were taken at separate sites in the Purcell Mountains. Can you tell the difference between the two species?
We got several shots of this lynx. At all of the three sites where we obtained lynx pictures, a lynx was photographed on multiple days. This suggests the lynx are residents and not just 'passing through' the area.
Lynx and bobcats aren't the only felines in Idaho's forests. This mountain lion was walking up a road in the Purcell Mountains. Check out this 10 second video of a lion in Idaho's Selkrik mountains:
Cats aren't the only predators that live in Idaho's forests. This photo of the Cutoff wolf pack was taken in the Selkirk Mountains. As wolves grow old their hair sometimes turns white just like ours does. The white wolf is thought to be the alpha male (a dominant social position and a primary breeder) of this pack. The first documented sighting of him was in 2008 and he's been observed several times since. He was white (so probably pretty old) in 2008 suggesting he is a very old wolf now. How many adults and pups can you count? The pups were about four months old when this photo was taken in July.
If you've ever wondered what the orange tinted feathers you see lying around hiking trails in the woods are, take a look at the wing feathers on this bird. Northern flickers are very common in north Idaho and this one perched in front of one of our Purcell cameras.
Pictures and video of grizzly bears from the Purcells and Selkirks.
While not as famous as their cousin the honey badger, North American badgers (there's two in this picture) can be a ferocious mustelid as well. Badgers are thought to be abundant in southern Idaho, but their status in northern Idaho is unclear.
Hunting season is here. Elk like this nice Selkirk bull and Selkirk moose are just a couple examples of some of the fine hunting north Idaho has to offer. I could tell you where we got this picture...but half the fun of hunting is just finding the animals right?