The Canadian Lynx
The Canadian lynx is very closely related to the Eurasian lynx however, the Canadian lynx more closely resembles a bobcat (although the bobcat is smaller in size) than it does a Eurasian lynx. The Canadian lynx is a mammal of the Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Lynx Species: L. Canadensis - and there are 3 recognized sub species.
The range of the Canadian lynx is obviously Canada, but also includes Alaska and some parts of the northern U.S. The Canadian lynx have short tails and very individualistic black tufts of hair on the tips of their ears. The further north a lynx inhabits, the denser will be its fur for natural protection against the cold.
On average a Canadian lynx weighs in at 24 lbs and is approximately 36 ins in length and stands at shoulder height to 24 ins.
When it comes to native habitat the lynx prefers mature northern forests within high altitude ranges with dense shrubbery and grasses. The lynx hunts from the ground but, it is known to climb trees, swim and catch fish, and prey on hares and rodents.
Canadian lynx are predominantly solitary and secretive animals, although it has been known for them to travel and hunt prey together. Canadian lynx feed on a wide variety of animals that include reindeer, small red deer, roe deer and chamois. Their more preferred diet is snowshoe hares, goats, sheep, fish, birds and small mammals. The Canadian lynx prefers to hunt at night and it has a huge impact on the snowshoe hare population because it is a specialist predator of this hare.
The Canadian lynx is trapped for its fur and has declined also as a result of habitat loss. Attempts have been made to relocate and re-establish Canadian lynx in territory where they were once familiar but have now vanished from. In 2000 the Canadian Lynx was designated the status of being a “threatened species” in some southern areas of its territorial range especially in the U.S.
Their conservation status is now listed as a species of “Least Concern” where the Canadian lynx now lives and there are now efforts underway to try and re-establish fragmented groups of these cats in previously viable areas. So all is looking well for the Canadian lynx as far as conservation of the cat itself and the habitat in which it thrives.
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