they were in decline, despite his adding that ”they are still caught in considerable numbers”. By 1861 both Bagster and Sutherland could note that otters were "getting very scarce" and "comparatively scarce” respectively, Sutherland seemingly attributing this to habitat loss, or as he put it, ”the increasing occupation of the country”. Bain in 1890, by which time it must have been even scarcer, if not already extirpated, makes no comment at all on its abundance, instead noting that it lived in ponds and streams feeding on fish, and that when these failed, ”it will attack lambs

and poultry”.77

The lynx — The lynx (Lynx canadens/s) was recorded by sixteen of the seventeen list—makers (Table 2-1), and received incidental comment from another five recorders.78 The most common name by which it was known was the ’wild cat', but it was also called by some the ’loup cervier’79 (actually its French name), sometimes corrupted to 'louserver’ or ’lucifee’ao. The name 'lynx’ was also given as an alternative name by a few recorders“. Though it was sometimes trapped for its fur82 and for food”, the lynx was more generally viewed as a harmful predator of farm livestock, and thus worthy of extermination, a view unequivocally expressed by Bagster (1861):

The Lynx or Lucifee, or more properly the Loup—cervier is in the doomed list of animals. The fur is of little or no value, — the animal itself without one redeeming quality,

77 I note that Cameron (1958) cites the Chief Game Warden of the island, Spurgeon Jenkins, that the otter was still extant but very rare, in the 1950s. I do not know how much faith to place in this record.

78 It had also been recorded during the French period (see Sobey 2002, p. 147),

79 Stewart 1806; MacGregor 1828; Murray 1839; Lawson 1851;

Bagster 1861; Rowan 1876. Patterson (1774) has a variant of this which I read as 'lucerver'.

8° Johnstone 1822; Bagster 1851; [Lawson] (1877-1878). Four elderly island residents used this name in their responses to the Questionnaire of 1876, each spelling it differently. Elsewhere this

was sometimes altered to the ‘lucifer' (Mowatt 1984) but I have not found this variant in island records,

8‘ Holland 1765: October; Bagster1851;Bain 1890.

82 Stewart (1806) reported that the skin sold for ten to fifteen

shillings; however, both MacGregor (1828) and Bagster (1861) said it was not very valuable.

83 Three writers report so: Holland (1765) said that the refugee Acadians included the lynx among the species that they hunted for food, while Patterson (1774) said that "the inhabitants here eat them". Stewart (1806) says that it was frequently eaten by “epicures and was much relished". (This has the feeling of book- lore — there could not have been many ‘epicures' among the island's small population in 1806).

247

— and as it is an animal dangerous and terrible, armed with strong and sharp talons, destroying game and attacking sheep — the sooner the last is killed the better.

MacGregor (1828) similarly noted that it attacked sheep, killing several at a time without eating any of them.84 Johnstone (1822) said that 'wild cats’ sometimes preyed on the black cattle and sheep in the woods, while in 1839 Murray said that it was ”still formidable to the flocks”85. Given this reputation it is not surprising that in the 18205 a bounty was instituted in an effort to exterminate the lynx on the island.86 Given the ease with which it could be killed with dogs, or caught in snares or traps”, combined with the loss of its habitat“, it is not surprising that an animal that

MacGregor (1828) had said was ”rather numerous”, and Bain noted had once been "not uncommon”, was by 1890 ”unknown”89. We may

thus presume that Bagster’s (1861) prediction had come true and that the lynx had been exterminated from the island. As for its natural foods, Stewart (1806) said that it lived on "hares and partridges”; Sutherland (1861) mentions ”small mammals, mice, birds, rabbits etc.”; Rowan (1876) noted its predation on hares; and Bain (1890) recorded "small quadrupeds and birds” as its natural food.

The caribou — Though the caribou (Rang/fer tarandus) had been reported as occurring on the island by several of the French period recorders”,

8" [Lawson] (1877-1878) also noted such multiple killing of sheep in his article on the pioneer days at Covehead.

35 By contrast, Stewart (1806) said that “very few of them [i.e. lynx] have been known to attack sheep or lambs". Counteracting Stewart‘s view is the following extract from The Islander, 8 May 1846: “Between Sunday night and Monday morning last, a Loupcervier or Wild Cat, killed 17 fine large sheep, and wounded five others, on the farm of Mr. John Bell of Cove Head. About 5 days previous Mr. John Hughes lost nine sheep, and it is supposed by the same animal. The whole of the inhabitants in the neighbourhood, with their dogs, turned out in search of the destructive creature, but we regret to say without success."

36 A law of 1825 instituted a bounty of five shillings for each lynx killed (House of Assembly 1773-1849) — whether there was earlier legislation I do not know (see footnote 54). Vass (1987) estimates that 357 lynx were presented for bounty in the period 1820-1861.

87 Stewart (1806) (p. 64), All of the details have not been included in the extract.

88 Lawson (1851) notes that there were “some hundred

Settlements and Villages started up in places where bears, foxes, loupcerviers were wont to consider their exclusive property".

39 Bain 1890.

90 See Sobey (2002) (p. 148). A sub-species, the woodland caribou, occurred throughout the Maritime region in the early

period of European exploration and colonisation,