SHUNIAH, Ont. -- In the 14 years she has lived at her residence in Shuniah, east of Thunder Bay, Susan Thompson has never seen more than one lynx at a time outside her home.
These days, she and her husband are getting used to being visited by three cats on a regular basis.
Thompson recorded video of the animals on her deck this week.
The couple had settled down to watch the 6 p.m. local news when her husband first noticed one lynx through the living room window.
"He said 'What is that?" and then another head popped up, then a third head popped up, and sure enough they all sat down on the deck and stared in the window at us," Thompson told tbnewswatch.com in an interview Thursday. "We just watched them. They were beautiful, so I took pictures."
Thompson said they don't leave food outside other than what's in a birdfeeder. "We don't want any wild animals during the winter, and don't need any skunks."
There is quarry in the area, however. Although the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says lynx prey almost exclusively on snowshoe hare, the couple has seen their visitors "leaping through the trees after the squirrels."
Between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. seems to be their favourite time to drop by.
The lynx are well aware that the couple has two pets, both of which are inside animals. "My cat and my dog are constantly looking outside to see what is out there. The lynx are staring back at them."
The Thompsons are being extra careful now when the dog, Tyson, has to go outside. On Thursday morning, they took the 80-pound dog to a neighbour's to do his business."I don't even want him outside on his leash right now in the morning. (The lynx) were hissing and meowing last night when we took Tyson out. They were trying to get his attention to come to the back of the house...it was very loud. He's a very well-behaved dog but I'm not risking the temptation."
Thompson's video is getting considerable attention across the country. She said a major magazine has approached her for an interview.
