Lynx on top of Lord's Cove phone pole draws crowd

People in Lord's Cove recently grabbed their cameras to photograph Newfoundland Power crews rescue a cat from a power pole; Monday afternoon they grabbed them again to watch another cat up on a pole — this time a large lynx.

A crowd quickly gathered in the Burin Peninsula community, including Margaret Martin, whose son told her to grab her camera to capture the unusual sight.

"The lynx was just kind of sitting there looking around. Looked kind of vicious, but beautiful at the same time. So everyone was taking pictures of course because it’s not a regular occurrence to see a lynx in the community, let alone on a light pole," she said.

Provincial Wildlife officers were called, but they said they couldn’t do much. They suggested that the lynx would likely come down on his own once it started getting dark, but the cat didn’t budge.

"He just stayed there, quite content. Late yesterday evening they noticed the sparks. He started moving around and he must have shocked himself and he fell from the pole," Martin said

Wildlife was called back as well as the police, who saw the pictures on Facebook. Wildlife officials prepared to shoot the animal if he was suffering. They decided to wait to give the lynx a chance to get up on his own.

"Sure enough, he just got up and wandered away," Martin said. "He didn’t run or bolt like you think he would. He must have still been shocked. He just wandered away and that was it, but it was a lot of excitement for a little time in Lord’s Cove."

Recently, a cat also got stuck on top of a light pole until Newfoundland Power workers rescued him. 

"They must be very nice light poles or they got the best view.  We’re in God’s country, Lord’s Cove, so they’re taking in the view," she said.