Three newborn lynxes have joined a growing family at the Montreal Biodôme.
In a release from Espace pour la vie Montréal, the organization said the kittens were born on May 1 and have been receiving attentive nursing, cleaning, and care from their mother since birth.
The Biodôme said it will be following a strict protocol to ensure the infants are left alone to receive proper nourishment from their mother. The young lynxes will be monitored by camera and kept out of sight until the summer. Visitors will get to see them in their habitat once the organization deems the kittens are ready to safely explore their surroundings.
The facility said it won’t be possible to determine the genders of the newly born animals for a few more weeks.
The release said this is the second time the female and male lynx have reproduced. The two animals, aged between seven and eight years old, introduced newborn kittens to their Biodôme-habitat for the first time in 2016.
“After her mother was hit by a car near Chibougamau, the young one was found in poor condition: orphaned, injured, dying of hunger and infested with parasites,” read the release when addressing the circumstances leading to the female lynx’s arrival at the site in 2015.
“Thanks to the veterinarian and animal care provided at the Biodôme, her physical health was restored, and she had her first kittens in 2016.”
The male lynx was born at the facility in 2013. His parents were originally rescued from a fur farm by the Biodôme team in 2006.
The release said reproduction at the Montreal facility is encouraged by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help grow the captive lynx population. The Canada lynx can live for longer than 20 years in captivity and typically will start breeding at the age of two.
“These lynxes could potentially represent an insurance plan for the wild population in the event that it suffers a major decline,” it said.
The Biodôme has been home to the births of nine lynx kittens since 2012.