For years, scientists have been staking out this remote forest in Montana for an animal that's notoriously tricky to find.
Camera traps haven't offered definitive evidence, and even experts can't identify its tracks with certainty.
But within the past decades, researchers have developed methods that can detect even the most elusive species.
And so, in 2018, these scientists took a sample from some conspicuous snow tracks.
Lab tests showed conclusive results: the Canada lynx was indeed present in the area.
Without seeing the cat, scientists had proof it was there because of environmental DNA or eDNA.
Using a technique called DNA metabarcoding, researchers can take a sample from the environment and learn which organisms are in it or have recently passed through it.
The world is covered in DNA.
It's all around us — on the ground, at the bottom of the ocean, and up in the clouds.
Multicellular organisms are constantly shedding cells.
