Animal Fact Sheet

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ANIMAL FACT SHEET FAST FACTS NAME: Canada Lynx SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lynx Canadensis AVERAGE WEIGHT: approximately 8 to14 kg AVERAGE HEIGHT: approximately 60 cm AVERAGE LENGTH: approximately 90 cm AVERAGE LIFESPAN: between 10 to 20 years DID YOU KNOW? In the 1900s the lynx populations faced a huge decline because of the fur trade. PHYSIOLOGY The Canada Lynx resembles a gigantic housecat. It has a very short body, small tail, and long legs. Their fur coat is usually thick, long and grey in the winter and short, thin and light brown in the summer. Year-round they have black tips on the end of their tails and on their triangle-shaped ears. The Canada Lynx has a very wide face that has longer patches of fur on the side of its face – it looks like a beard! The long, round feet of the Canada Lynx act like snowshoes by distributing their weight to help keep on top of the snow. They also have sharp claws that retract helping them to climb, fight predators and capture prey. Their feet are covered in a thick layer of fur to keep them warm in the winter. HABITAT/BEHAVIOUR Canada Lynxes can be found in forested areas and make their dens underneath fallen trees, tree stumps, rock ledges or thick bushes. Lynxes are very territorial animals – males live alone and are usually only found around other lynxes during breeding season, in winter. Females stay with the baby kittens. All their hunting is done at night, which they are well adapted with big eyes and superior hearing. Because lynxes are not fast runners, they have to be sneaky to catch their dinner. They usually bound after their prey and pounce on them from a hiding spot – some even sit still for hours to just to catch a bite! The main source of food for this lynx is snowshoe hares. A hungry lynx will eat a whole hare for one meal, while others usually eat some and hide the rest for later. When hares cannot be found, the lynx will eat small mammals, birds and sometimes even large animals like caribou. Predators of the lynx include cougars, wolves and coyotes, but humans are the biggest threat of all. Trappers favour lynx for their beautiful, thick fur coat. RANGE The Canada Lynx can be found in boreal forests all across Canada – from Newfoundland to the Yukon. Their range extends into western Montana, Idaho, Washington and Utah. www.cgkids.ca.

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Lynx, Felis Lynx, Predation on Red Foxes, Vulpes Vulpes, Caribou
Lynx, Fe/is lynx, predation on Red Foxes, Vulpes vulpes, Caribou, Rangifer tarandus, and Dall Sheep, Ovis dalli, in Alaska ROBERT 0. STEPHENSON, 1 DANIEL V. GRANGAARD,2 and JOHN BURCH3 1Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1300 College Road, Fairbanks, Alaska, 99701 2Alaska Department of Fish and Game, P.O. Box 305, Tok, Alaska 99780 JNational Park Service, P.O. Box 9, Denali National Park, Alaska 99755 Stephenson, Robert 0., Daniel Y. Grangaard, and John Burch. 1991. Lynx, Fe/is lynx, predation on Red Foxes, Vulpes vulpes, Caribou, Rangifer tarandus, and Dall Sheep, Ovis dalli, in Alaska. Canadian Field-Naturalist 105(2): 255- 262. Observations of Canada Lynx (Fe/is lynx) predation on Red Foxes ( Vulpes vulpes) and medium-sized ungulates during winter are reviewed. Characteristics of I 3 successful attacks on Red Foxes and 16 cases of predation on Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) and Dall Sheep (Ovis dalli) suggest that Lynx are capable of killing even adults of these species, with foxes being killed most easily. The occurrence of Lynx predation on these relatively large prey appears to be greatest when Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americanus) are scarce. Key Words: Canada Lynx, Fe/is lynx, Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes, Caribou, Rangifer tarandus, Dall Sheep, Ovis dalli, predation, Alaska. Although the European Lynx (Felis lynx lynx) quently reach 25° C in summer and -10 to -40° C in regularly kills large prey (Haglund 1966; Pullianen winter. Snow depths are generally below 80 cm, 1981), the Canada Lynx (Felis lynx canadensis) and snow usually remains loosely packed except at relies largely on small game, primarily Snowshoe high elevations.
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Canada Lynx Lynx Canadensis Fact Sheet Natural Resources April 2011 Conservation Service
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