Yes, that's what lynxes actually sound like when they fight

This story was originally published in May 2019.

Daniel Wadleigh has been hunting and fishing in the woods of Maine almost since he could walk, but what he saw Friday night still left him stunned.

The 31-year-old Belgrade resident was traveling on Route 6 in Sandwich Academy Grant Township between Jackman and Rockwood, looking for fishing spots for the weekend when he “came across these two things on the road,” he said.

“I didn't know what they were. Then I said, 'Wait a minute. I think they're bobcats.' I just slammed on the brakes and came to a stop,” Wadleigh said. “I thought they would see me and run away. But they stayed right where they were.”

The two Canadian lynx were having a showdown of sorts right next to the road. They were so engrossed in their argument that when Wadleigh first saw them, they remained almost nose to nose and howling at each other long enough to snap half a dozen pictures and nearly a minute of video with his cell phone camera.

While Wadleigh was filming the video, the two moved a little distance away from each other and then sat down. However, they continued making noise until Wadleigh started his Dodge Ram pickup.

It was a breathtaking performance, said Wadleigh.

“I've seen bobcats here and there. I've seen one or two bobcats running through the woods, but I've never seen anything like this,” he said.

Kendall Martin, a regional biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife based in Sidney, said what Wadleigh saw is actually quite common in this area of ​​Somerset County.

The Canada lynx is listed as federally threatened and a special protected species of the state. It is a forest cat common in northern latitudes where deep snow and spruce/fir forests predominate. It is commonly found in the spruce and fir plains of Aroostook and Piscataquis counties and in northern Penobscot, Somerset, Franklin and Oxford counties, where snow depths are often the highest in the state, according to a web page devoted to it at maine.gov.

Martin, who watched the video on Wadleigh's phone when he came into his office on Tuesday, said the two bobcats were likely displaying typical territorial behavior, which is common this time of year when bobcats begin raising their young.

“It could have just been general territorial behavior or two males or a female asserting dominance,” Martin said. “It's hard to tell without a lot of context, but it's pretty normal for a lynx to be very vocal without showing much aggression.”

“They're not quite as friendly as people walking by on the street,” he said. “Maybe they wanted to say, 'Hey, I'm in the area now.'”

Wadleigh loves having seen the wildcats.

“It's just a miracle to me that I was able to make this video and just happened to be in the right place at the right time, all in one of my favorite places,” he said. “I mean, can it get any cooler?”