ASHLAND, N.Y. (WENY) – A driver has been charged after New York State Police say they found a Canadian Lynx caged in the back of their pickup truck.

On Saturday, state police reportedly stopped to help a driver with a flat tire on I-86 in the Town of Ashland.

During the encounter, the trooper noticed a dog cage in the back of the pickup truck which contained a Canadian Lynx.

With the assistance of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), officers say they discovered the people in the truck were illegally transporting the lynx from Illinois to Binghamton.

The driver of the truck was charged with transporting/possessing threatened wildlife without a permit. The Canadian Lynx is listed as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

The lynx was turned over to the DEC.