Wild Lynx

Ron Niebrugge Alaska, Denali, Photos, Travel 8 Comments

Wild lynx, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Wild lynx, Denali National Park, Alaska.

This was the same day as the sunset I posted yesterday, and of the sheep image I posted a couple of days ago – funny how some days everything just comes together!

This guy really scared us – as we were hiking around through the forest, he burst out of some trees just a few feet from us!  Fortunately, he only went about 20 feet and stopped which is when I captured this photo.  After that, he went to hunting and we were able to watch him for a good twenty minutes.  What a treat!

From what I have read, the lynx population lags the snowshoe hare population by about a year.  The last few years, there have been hares everywhere.  This year, there were very few.  So, I have a feeling that the days of spotting lynx in Denali are about over.  Seems like on my trips to Denali over the last couple of years that I have seen at least one lynx on each trip – but in the years before that, I rarely saw a lynx there.  If the lynx population does crash as expected, I’m going to miss these wonderful encounters.

Comments 8

  1. Nice RON!

    Just a question, wich lens did you use for this pictures & for the Denali Caribou posted on 9-9?

  2. Post
    Author

    Thanks a lot Richard – it really was one of my best trips in a long time!

    Thanks David!

    This photo was captured with a Canon 7D and the new 70-200 f/2.8 with a 2x converter @ 400mm.

    The Caribou was captured with a Canon 5D Mark II and a 600 f/4.

    Interestingly enough, they both had about the same effective focal length, but two very different ways of getting there. I had the 7D for the lynx as I was doing a lot of hiking through the forest not knowing what I would see. For the caribou – I had seen it from the road and since it wasn’t too far of a hike I opted for the much heavier 600.

  3. Quick thinking grabbing a great photo in spite of the adrenaline rush. Once a baby skunk pranced out of the brush onto the path in front of me and I was so scared of the mother finding me that I took off like a shot. Paused briefly to consider getting the pic (it was SO cute!) but, decided not worth the risk. Believe it or not, I actually stopped again for half a sec to debate the merits of grabbing up a pet baby skunk (people think of crazy things things sometimes) but changed my mind in a heartbeat and bolted down the trail like a scared little bunny. So, if you get a chance to photograph and post a baby skunk..thanks in advance.

  4. Post
    Author
  5. This is really a beautiful shot. The colors, and the story behind it.
    I hope you can see and shot more of them in trips to come.

  6. Pingback: ver el lince « Desván Gatero

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *