Evidence Shows Another Breeding Wild Cat In Voyageur’s National Park

Earlier this year, Voyageur's Wolf Project shared evidence of the first breeding mountain lions in Minnesota in over 100 years. They captured a mother and her kittens several times on their trail camera system. They've long been thought to be just transient, coming from out west. More breeding cougars need to be identified before determining there is a sustained population.

Lynx Mother And Kittens Caught On Camera

Now, another species of wild cat is showing evidence that they too have set up residency in Voyageurs National Park. The Wolf Project recently shared a mother lynx and her two kittens. Based on sightings on trail cameras from November 2025, February 2026, and March 2026, it confirms that the kittens made it to their first birthday!

It's long been thought that there wasn't enough snowshoe hares in the habitat to support the lynx. Lynx require a population of smaller animals for food in the winter.

Voyageur's Wolf Project Trail Camera Research

As our game trail camera technology improves, Voyageur's Wolf Project has been able to capture significantly more animal sightings, and it's tremendously helped research in the national park.

This lynx sighting makes it seem possible that a self-sustaining resident population may exist, although researchers caution that it might be a rare occurrence.