STORIES

And (1) Noelle’s tale carries on…

In this March’s afternoon, I was going to the childminder which takes care of my son Leo. I enjoy using the path because it takes a small walkway bordering a forest and numerous prairies. The tranquility of this surrounding makes it an ideal to encounter beautiful animals. Suddenly, in the process of making a sharp turn, I find myself face to face with lynx (Lynx boreal ). It’s a female with a peculiar attribute : her left ear is damaged. This singularity tickled my curiosity. This animal must have a known history. Straight away I begin my little investigation. I reached some friend of mine who is specialized in lynx and cross check by looking through the internet for anything material. Furthermore each feline has a unique coat as we have all different finger print. This characteristic will be a precious help in order to find and have this assurance of a positive identification.

I discovered that it is a female lynx called Noelle. She was picked up by the center (2)Athenas on 24th December 2015, still juvenile (video here under). Orphan as her brother could have not been saved, her mother must have been caught by poachers or hit by a car, we will never know.

After having gone through a period of care, she was released into the wild a year later. Along with the thrill of this observation, it was also a privilege for me to discover her history.

(1)Noël means Christmas in French

(2)Situated in L’Etoile (39) in the department of Jura, Athenas is a center safeguarding the wildlife. It is well equipped in order to host feline such a lynx and wild cats.

What a camouflage!

The lynx’s mimicry within the forest is amazing. His fawn coat and black spots mixes very well with the leaves and the inner forest or in the winter among beech trees. A strong asset for this hunter which practices concealed approach. Which shows us that the green camouflage isn’t the best at all time.