A resident of the small town of Saint-Hippolyte, less than an hour from Montreal, was quite shocked to see a rare sighting of a lynx in her backyard last week.
“I still don’t realize I saw that at my house! […] I have a little dog and let’s just say I won’t let her out to do her business for the time being,” laughs Kelly Domingue in an interview with the Journal.
It was the first time that this resident of the Hameaux du Boisé estate in Saint-Hippolyte saw a lynx in her garden. His first instinct was to film the beast with his phone to immortalize the moment, which happened around 9:30 a.m. on February 13.
Photo provided by Kelly Domingue
Kelly Domingue says she’s worried about her little dog, Chewy, since she saw a lynx in her yard. Photo Credit: Photo provided by Kelly Domingue
“I haven’t seen him since then. I think it was a one-off deal, Ms. Domingue explains. I didn’t even think of reporting it because I didn’t think there was a lynx in front of me. I feel kinda lucky.”
never seen
The mayor of Saint-Hippolyte, Yves Dagenais, confirms that he has never seen a lynx in his city in almost 56 years.
City of Saint Hippolyte
Yves Dagenais, Mayor of Saint-Hippolyte, has never seen a lynx in his town in over 50 years. Photo credit: City of Saint-Hippolyte
“This is the first time I’ve seen this at home! Hey, he’s bigger too!” exclaims Mr Dagenais upon spotting the animal’s video on social media.
This eight-second sequence was posted to Kelly Domingue’s mother’s TikTok account on Friday. It quickly went viral. At the time this text was published late Sunday afternoon, the video had been viewed more than 450,000 times.
We see in particular the wild cat that quietly advances near the house of the Hippolytoise.
“I’m not surprised to see it in this very wooded part of town,” the mayor comments calmly. We need to hear the authorities’ responses to know what is happening to him.
citizens warned
The Journal reached out to the Department of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) on the matter.
However, our questions about this rare sighting of lynx went unanswered on Saturday and Sunday.
For its part, the town of Saint-Hippolyte warned its citizens on Sunday of the presence of the lynx. “If you come across a feral cat, it’s advisable not to approach the animal as this helps acclimate it to human presence, and this can play against them and public safety,” We recalled.
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