Lots of folks, when you think “Alaska wildlife,” think of the big, charismatic critters: Bears, moose, wolves, caribou, and muskox. You know, those beautiful Ice Age holdovers. But we have a lot of other wildlife, too, including cats – specifically, lynx. We’re too far north for mountain lions and bobcats, although there are rumors of lion sightings down in the panhandle; a few may drift in from British Columbia from time to time.
Lynx, though, are around. A few years back, one got into our neighbor’s chicken coop and killed several of their best laying hens, which didn’t make them happy. It didn’t make us happy, either. We buy most of our eggs from them.
Down Anchorage way, folks living up on the hillside see lynx now and then, too. Turns out they do all right near people, as long as there is game for them.
There are several things that make spotting a lynx special, even in a wildlife-rich city like Anchorage. Alaska’s only native wild cats are beautiful creatures, with disproportionately long legs, big feet, thick gray coats and adorable tufts of hair that extend from the tips of their ears.
And they’re stealthy. I’ve only spotted a lynx a handful of times in decades, usually as one was darting across the road as I drove. I’ve only managed to photograph one once before, so fleeting was the opportunity. They tend not to stick around.
That’s what made an occasion this week so exciting. While pulled over high on the Hillside to take in the afternoon view, I happened upon a lynx family passing through the area, perhaps 75 feet away. One crossed Toilsome Hill Drive and disappeared in the woods. Then another. Then another. Each leaped like a playing house cat onto a snowbank.
That’s the fun thing about cats. It seems like any cat, from a lion or tiger to the tamest little house kitty, is still a cat; they share a lot of behaviors.
Alaska Man score: 5 lynx kittens.
Read More: Alaska Man Monday: Caribou and Bad Decisions
Now, an adventure into Alaska politics; Alaska’s third-largest political party, the Alaska Independence Party, is breaking up. This has been one of the more successful third parties; they even got a governor elected. But now they are dropping from the scene.
Leaders of Alaska’s third-largest political party voted to dissolve it last month, raising questions about how the state Division of Elections would handle the registration of its more than 19,000 members.
The Alaskan Independence Party dates back to the 1970s, when it was founded by Joe Vogler, a serial political candidate who advocated for Alaska to secede from the United States and become an independent country.
The party, which broadly speaking opposes taxation and favors private land ownership, was used by former Gov. Wally Hickel to win a gubernatorial election in 1990. The former Republican ran as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, becoming at the time the first third-party candidate in the U.S. to win a governor’s seat in more than a decade.
The Alaska Independence Party struck a regretful tone about Alaska’s statehood, and wanted a do-over; part of their platform was a new election to determine if Alaska would remain a state, revert to territorial status, or go it alone. At present, I’d prefer to remain in a state. In five years? Ask me again.
Alaska Man score: 1.5 of 5 moose nuggets. I understand why they did what they did, but part of the blame for this lies at the feet of ranked-choice voting, which is a stupid idea no matter how you slice it.
Read More: Alaska Man Monday: Happy Birthday, Alaska!
Now, let’s talk about some infrequent winter visitors.
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