The Colorado Division of Wildlife is seeking information about a lynx that was shot and killed during the last week of October in the Hermosa Park area about 30 miles north of Durango.

The lynx, a 9-year-old male, which was transplanted from British Columbia, was known to have ranged in a wide area between the Purgatory ski area, and the towns of Rico and Telluride. DOW officials were alerted when they received a mortality signal from the radio collar that had been placed on the cat when it was released in 2000.

A wildlife officer and a lynx researcher located the cat on Nov. 2. It was found in a heavily wooded area in big game management unit 74. The lynx was killed sometime during the second big game rifle-hunting season, which ended Oct. 29.

"We are hoping that an observant sportsman might have seen something that can help us solve this crime," said Patt Dorsey, area wildlife manager for the DOW in Durango. "We'd like to know the circumstances of why a lynx was killed. It's possible that this is a mistake or an accidental kill and there is a regretful person out there who would feel better making this right."

The DOW's Operation Game Thief receives more than 100 tips each year from the public about wildlife crimes.

The DOW is reintroducing lynx in the mountains of Colorado. The first lynx were released in 1999. About 200 lynx are believed to be alive in Colorado's southern and central mountains.

If anyone has information about this incident, they are asked to call the DOW office in Durango at 970/247-0855; or Operation Game Thief at 877/265-6648. Information can be given anonymously.