The Canada lynx, scientific name Lynx canadensis, is a medium-sized cat characterised by its long ear tufts, flared facial ruff, and short, bobbed tail with a completely black tip.
They are around two feet tall (0.6m), 2.5 to three feet (0.75 to 0.9 m) long, weigh between 10 to 25 lbs (4.5 to 11.3 kg) and have a life expectancy of up to 15 years.
The Canada lynx has unusually large paws that act like snowshoes in very deep snow, thick fur and long legs, and its hind legs are longer than its front legs, giving lynx a stooped appearance.
Diet
Lynx are specialised hunters that target snowshoe hare, which make up the bulk of their diet. In fact, lynx can only sustain populations where there are adequate snowshoe hare populations.
In Canada and Alaska, lynx populations actually fluctuate in response to how many hares there are. Lynx are also known to eat mice, voles, grouse, ptarmigan, red squirrel and carrion.
Population
Lynx populations continually ebb and flow due to prey populations and related periodic movements from Canada, therefore it is difficult to have an accurate estimate.
Yet overall, lynx populations can currently be generalised as quite low and substantially reduced from historical levels.
Behaviour
Generally solitary animals, lynx usually hunt and travel alone, and are slightly more active at night than by day.
Lynx hunt by actively walking, flushing and chasing prey, and by using resting or hunting beds to wait for prey to come close, and then giving chase.
Reproduction
Lynx mating season is between March and April, with females giving birth once a year.
The gestation period of their young is between 63 and 70 days and normally results in one to five kittens.
Lynx do not create a den site – they locate their kittens under an existing feature, such as a downed log, root system, or simple ground depression surrounded by dense vegetation.
Without the presence of kittens, the actual den site is often not distinguishable from its natural surroundings. Kittens stay with their mother for the first year while they learn to hunt.
The male lynx does not help with rearing young. Yearling females may give birth during periods when hares are abundant.
While mothers have an average of four kittens when there is a periodic abundance of snowshoe hares, they have smaller litters the rest of the time, when fewer hares are available.