Police in northwestern Ont. record rare sighting of lynx family crossing the road

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Lynx family surprises OPP officers on New Year's Eve

Rare sighting of a family of Lynx

Ontario Provincial Police in Armstrong, Ont., have posted a video of a rare sighting of a family of lynx crossing the road on New Year’s Eve.

“What a way to end 2025,” police said in a social media post.

“(Const.) Stubbington from Armstrong OPP spotted something truly special while on patrol — a family of five Canada lynx: two adults and three kittens.”

While the lynx look like housecats, they are ferocious hunters that are hard to spot.

“The lynx is mainly a solitary animal. They only travel in pairs during the mating season or in small groups when the kittens follow their mother during their first year,” according to Parks Canada.

“Lynx hunt on the ground and rely heavily on their sight and hearing, and surprisingly very little on their sense of smell. They prowl silently through the forest, making regular pauses to survey the area. They also lie under cover, waiting for prey to pass by.”

They are very “secretive” animals that feed mainly on snowshoe hare.

“Encounters like this are a reminder of how incredible our northern wildlife really is, and how much happens in the forests around us that we rarely get to see,” the OPP post said.

“A perfect final highlight for the year.”