UPDATED Tuesday, September 8, 2009 --- 12:25 p.m.

From NBC15's News Partner: Poynette Press:

By Jim Winter
Editor

One of two Canadian lynxes which made their public debut Sept. 2 at the MacKenzie Center in Poynette has been put down.

MacKenzie's weekend wildlife technician, Cristy Bahr, found the lynx being unable to use its back legs Saturday morning.

She contacted MacKenzie's full-time wildlife technician, Dan Mautz, who arranged for the lynx to be taken to the Lodi Veterinary Hospital, which handles care for MacKenzie's animals.

Derek Duane, director of the MacKenzie Center, said staff at the vet hospital took X-rays of the lynx. They showed the lynx had suffered a spinal cord injury.

"We don't know if it was pre-existing or happened at the center," Duane said.

Duane said the center ordered a necropsy to better determine the history of the injury, but results won't be available for six weeks.

Staff at the vet hospital sent the cat to the University of Wisconsin Veterinary School for further analysis. Duane said staff at the school determined the lynx had suffered a spinal cord injury and could not guarantee a $5,000 surgery would fix the problem.

Mautz and doctors at the UW Veterinary School made the decision to euthanize the lynx Saturday afternoon.

Duane said staff at MacKenzie are mystified about what happened. The lynx was fine on Wednesday, when it made its public debut, and Thursday and Friday.

"This was such terrible news," Duane said. "We're not over the shock of it, and we're trying to find answers."

Duane said he is meeting with staff Tuesday afternoon at the lynx pen. He is also calling the breeder in Minnesota, all in a quest to find answers.

The animal's death leaves the center with one lynx.

Duane said it's early to weigh options, but getting a second lynx, if available, is one of them.

"I would like another one in there," Duane said. "When they're young, they need companionship."

Click HERE to read coverage in Poynette Press

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Posted Wednesday, September 2, 2009 -- 5:15pm
By Zac Schultz

Poynette: The community of Poynette has rallied to bring two lynx cubs to the MacKenzie Wildlife Center.

The three-month-old lynx cub seems to be settling in at its new home at the MacKenzie Wildlife Center, sunning itself on a log.

He didn't seem to be phased by the crowd gathered to celebrate his arrival, along with his slightly older brother. "They are making themselves right at home," says Director Derek Duane.

Duane says when their last lynx died, they knew they'd get another. But he didn't expect two cubs. "This doesn't happen very often. Typically the animals that come here are orphaned, injured."

Last May, Kris Daugherty wanted to use the MacKenzie Center's lynx as a mascot for the Poynette Library's linkcat program. When she learned it had died, she started a penny drive to raise the money needed to buy a new one. "I get choked up whenever I think about this. I am so overwhelmed by the generosity of the community."

They raised a $1,000 in three months. The library board kicked in another $1,000 and the MacKenzie Center made it $3,000 when they learned they could purchase the two cats.

"These lynxes were meant to be here," says Daugherty. She says the links between the people and the lynx is more than a play on words. "To be able to watch these two little ones grow and change feel the ownership and of course the links between our library and our community and the MacKenzie Center and these guys, just amazing."

The MacKenzie Wildlife Center is open 7 days a week from 8 to 4 and best of all it is free.