Pair of Lynx return to Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
Photo courtesy of courtesy of AWCC.
Two lynx have returned to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
By Ethan Tyler
Special to the Turnagain Times
The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage has a new attraction – sort of. For the past 4 years, the Lynx entrusted to the Portage facility by Alaska Department of Fish & Game have resided at the Alaska Zoo, while the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center worked to complete a new Lynx enclosure.
The new enclosure was completed last month, and the pair of Lynx returned to the Center this past week.
“We’re excited to have them back,” said Executive Director Mike Miller. “We have been working to put this enclosure together for a long time. They are a great attraction for our visitors, and we are thankful not only to have them back with us, but to the Zoo for taking such good care of them.”
The two lynx were rescued by firefighters when they were found motherless after a forest fire in interior Alaska. They suffered burns on their paws, legs, faces, and ears, and their mother was nowhere to be found. The firefighter put the two lynx in his backpack and made arrangements to get them to Anchorage for care. They were brought to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in 2004.
The new enclosure is part of an expansion that the Portage facility went through in 2006, and is actually built into the gift store. The enclosure includes a water feature and some great interactive enrichment objects for them to play with. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the lynx are currently on display.
