Colorado is again looking to the Yukon for support in its effort to raise the state's lynx population from the dead.

The Yukon hasn't provided any of the large cats to Colorado since 2000, when it shipped 20 animals, of which 14 were the preferred females.

In 1999, the first year of the program, the territory shipped nine lynx, of which three were female.

The state would like another eight in the next month.

Now in its sixth year, Colorado's re-introductory program has been a resounding success to date, Rick Kahn, a field biology supervisor for Colorado, said during a conference call Tuesday afternoon from his Fort Collins office.

Kahn said evidence from radio-collar tracking and field surveys suggests the annual survival rate is now greater than the number of lynx that die each year.

Of the 166 adults introduced to the state from the Yukon and several provinces, 61 have died. Of the 105 introduced adults known to be alive, state wildlife officials are using radio collars to track between 85 and 90.

In 2003, 16 kittens were born in what was the first year that maternal dens had been found. Of those, six are known to still be alive.

Last year, however, field crews located 11 dens with a total of 39 kittens.

Kahn said female lynx from the Yukon that were introduced to the state in 2000 seem to be the most prolific.

'Really, this is one of the most fulfilling things I've got to do with this agency,' Kahn said of his 27 years working with the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Fur harvest technician Helen Slama of the territorial Department of the Environment said three Yukon trappers have been retained to provide the eight live lynx.

The first of the eight has arrived and is being held at a facility near Whitehorse. Before it's shipped, it has to be sedated and tested by a veterinarian for any defects or health problems.

Slama said cats that can't pass the grade are put down and given back to the trapper for skinning. The three trappers have until March 10 to complete the work.

Slama said the price for each live cat has reached as much as $1,350 Cdn for a prime female.

Under the live-trap initiative, trappers cannot trap below -20 C for fear paws could freeze if the cats are left too long inside the box trap or foot snare, Slama explained. She said the three trappers involved are also required to check their traps at least once every 24 hours.

The fur harvest technician explained that the Yukon decided against shipping any lynx for the program after 2000 because the local population was hitting the downside in its population cycle. It was at a time, she said, when even local trappers were being encouraged to reduce their lynx harvest because of the downturn in the cycle.

Kahn said while it's too early to say the reintroduction program has worked, he's happy with what he sees so far.

And with the survival of individual lynx that were introduced five years ago, there is an indication the food supply is satisfactory, he said.

Kahn said it's his view that you won't be able to measure the success of the program until five years after the last lynx is introduced.

In addition to the 37 cats to be released this year, Kahn has authority to release up to 10 more over the next three years.

So far, the program has cost the state somewhere between $2 million and $2.3 million US.

Historic data show that lynx once held their own in the state. However, the population spiralled downward from 1935 to 1972 for a variety of reasons. They ranged from loss of habitat to poisoning by farmers and others who saw the animals as a hindrance, not a value.

It was in 1972 that the last known lynx was illegally trapped in Colorado.

While there remains some opposition to the re-introductory program, Kahn believes public support outweighs the dissent.

In fact, he said, he can't think of any other wildlife initiatives that have received greater public support than the lynx reintroduction.