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SALMON, ID- Idaho Fish and Game biologists confirm that a Canada lynx that was caught in a trap in the Salmon-Challis National Forest last month, marking the first time one of the cats has been seen in the state in 20-years.

Biologists say the lynx was spotted in a legally set foot-hold trap by a passing outdoorsman and they were able to reach the location within an hour. They say the lynx hadn't been harmed so they were able to release it from the trap and watch it leave.

"We watched it wander off in good shape," conservation officer Dane Cook said. "It had all the classic lynx features; long legs, huge furry paws, ear tufts and short, black-tipped tail."

Lynx prefer younger, regenerating forests where there are a lot of snowshoe hare, which makes the location where it was found.

"This would be an extremely rare event, and we're waiting to get genetic test results before we confirm it's a native, wild lynx," Fish and Game wildlife manager Tom Keegan said.

Canada lynx are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, and they are designated an Idaho "species of greatest conservation need." Fewer than 40 lynx records are known for the Salmon-Challis region, dating from 1896 trapping logs to an observation of lynx tracks reported in 2010.

The last verified record of a lynx in east-central Idaho was an incidentally trapped animal from the Pahsimeroi Valley in 1991.