"Friendly" lynx is capturing hearts with its giant fluffy paws (VIDEO)
A Canadian woman is documenting her visits from a friendly lynx and the internet can’t get enough of this big, beautiful cat.
Buffy Worboys and her husband own Niobe Lake Lodge, a small and friendly fishing and hunting resort with an RV campground in Ontario, two hours west of Thunder Bay.
“There’s always a lot of lovely wildlife to see in the area,” she says. “It is a very serene and beautiful place to take a break.”
Worboys started seeing a lynx on her property about one month ago.
“I started talking to it, it was not frightened of me at all,” she said.
“As a matter of fact, it started walking towards me. I was a little bit freaked out by that because I had never had an encounter with a wild cat before. I jumped back into the house and watched him through the door and took some more pictures.”
Now, the lynx drops by for a visit about once a week. A video posted to Tiktok of one visit has more than 14 million views.
@niobelakelodge Lynx, niobe lake lodge, wilderness, fyp
“I shared it on TikTok because I thought people would like to see an up-close video of a friendly wild lynx,” said Worboys.
The video comments mostly about how adorable the animal is and how lucky she is to have seen the cat up close. “The murder mittens look so soft and cuddly,” wrote one commenter. “That Lynx trusts you to be slowly blinking like that!” wrote another.
According to Worboys, the video’s gotten a lot of responses, including praise and criticism for not feeding the animal.
“The lynx has been eating, as I have found tracks of it chasing rabbits and snowshoe hares and remains of a squirrel,” said Worboys.
According to the Ontario government, lynxes, bobcats, and cougars are “extremely shy and rarely seen by humans.”
Provincial guidance is to never approach one of these animals or offer it food. Don’t run away, as cats instinctively chase, and face the animal instead, firmly talking as you back away.
As for Worboys, she said contacted a rep from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, who told her that the animal looks healthy and is not in danger.
“He said … I should enjoy its visits while I can because it will eventually move on,” said Worboys.