Lynx

 
Credits
2007, 17 mins. (UCLA)
Director/Writer: Wynn Padula
Producers: Eric Binns, Ben Harris, Wynn Padula
Editor: Wynn Padula
Director of Photography: Angela How
Cast: Ramon Hilario, Jesse Holland, Mark Irvingsen, Princess Lucaj
 
About
When a scientist happens upon a political firestorm, can he remain impartial? Art Wilder is a research ecologist working in Montana's Crazy Mountains. A postdoc in charge of a public research office, Art studies the elusive lynx, an endangered species of cat at home in the snowy forests of the Northwest. His research is controversial because any land shown to be lynx habitat becomes protected, and can't be logged or developed. When someone plants lynx hairs at Art's survey sites, Art has to make a crucial decision: let the false data show that lynx are found in great numbers, thereby protecting the land. Or point out the unethical action, defending the credibility of science but potentially letting the land go.
 
Online Resources
Lynx canadensis, The Nature Conservancy
Canadian lynx research hijinks, Green Nature
Canadian lynx, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services
Lynx on imdb.com