New Bedford’s Buttonwood Park Zoo Welcomes First Canada Lynx Kittens

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — Some new kittens were born recently at New Bedford’s Buttonwood Park Zoo, and you can consider them lynx from one generation to the next.

The zoo announced today that two Canada lynx kittens – one male, one female – were born on May 4, 2024.

The zoo said the kittens are the first successful litter for their 11-year-old mom Sylvie and 13-year-old dad Hutch.

The lynx at Buttonwood Park Zoo are four of just 28 in Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoos across the United States. The zoo mentioned in a release that Canada lynx are listed as “threatened” under the United States Endangered Species Act “due to lower population size and inadequate protection of habitat on Federal lands.”

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The Canada lynx at the Buttonwood Park Zoo are part of the AZA’s Species Survival Plan, with a goal to “cooperatively manage lynx populations within AZA-accredited zoos to ensure a healthy and genetically diverse population.”

Through the SSP, Sylvie arrived at the zoo in 2014, and Hutch arrived in 2021 after the passing of Calgary, a male Canada lynx that had lived at the zoo for 11 years and at 20 years and seven months old was recognized as the oldest Canada lynx living at an AZA-accredited facility, and the second longest-lived lynx in the historical population.

Now, after three years together, Sylvie and Hutch have their first kittens, and the zoo said they are doing quite well after their recent eight-week checkup and that Sylvie has really taken to being a mom.

“Both kittens are healthy, very curious, and great climbers,” said Dr. Emmy Budas, BPZOO’s veterinarian. “Their personalities were on full display during the exam, with the female showing her sweet and gentle side, while her brother was full of spunk and not afraid to speak his mind.”

The zoo said the kittens are beginning to explore their habitat, which is located just beyond the bison pasture.