The two species evolved together, the cat becoming a specialist in killing the hare, and the hare becoming adept at eluding the lynx. The lynx kills an average of one hare every two or three days. It will turn to killing grouse, rodents, and other animals if hares become scarce. Hare populations follow a natural cyclical pattern, changing approximately every 10 years from abundance to scarcity and back to abundance.
Adult lynx usually survive periods of hare scarcity, but their kittens often do not. As a result, the lynx population follows a similar pattern, with its peaks and valleys lagging one to two years behind those of the hare. Lynx populations south of the Canadian border were probably never as abundant or dense as the more northern populations.
The diet of lynx in these southern areas is more varied—including squirrels, small rodents, grouse, and hares—and the populations are less dense and less productive than their northern counterparts. These felines are solitary hunters that are more active at night than in the day. They are such well adapted nocturnal hunters that they can spot prey in the darkness from feet away.
Female lynx enter estrus—the state of being receptive to mating—once a year and raise one litter each year. Mating occurs from February to April and is followed by a gestation period of 8 to 10 weeks. Females give birth to young in logs, stumps, clumps of timber, or similar tangles of roots and branches. Litters usually have two or three kittens, though there may be as few as one or as many as eight.
Lynx weigh about seven ounces grams at birth. Kittens will consume milk from their mother for about five months, although kittens eat some meat as early as one month after birth. Females provide all of the parental care and help to educate their young in hunting techniques. The young remain with their mother until the following winter's mating season, and siblings may stay together longer. Females reach sexual maturity at 21 months and males at 33 months. In the wild, lynx can live up to 14 years.
In captivity, lifespans of 26 years have been recorded. In March , the U. Lynx are among the most endangered felines in North America, with only a few hundred animals suspected to remain in the lower 48 states. Currently, biologists estimate that fewer than 50 Canada lynx remain in Washington, potentially only a few dozen individuals. In late , the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife listed lynx as endangered in our state. In the lower 48 states, lynx are considered threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Their protection followed a petition and decade of support by Conservation Northwest and other conservation organizations. The boundaries of these ecological islands are risky because of habitat loss and human-carnivore conflict. However, a five-winter study in Riding Mountain National Park, Canada found the highest relative probability of lynx occurrence was along the southeast border of the park in close proximity to a human community and a lake used for winter recreational use such as snowmobiling and skiing.
Researchers attributed this to a 25 year old fire which has since created successional habitat highly suitable for the snowshoe hare. Their results suggest Canada Lynx occurrence is associated with habitat that is highly suitable for their primary prey, even if that habitat is located near humans. Lynx are mainly terrestrial and nocturnal, although they may also hunt during the day if prey is scarce. Lynx are thought to hunt mainly by sight and hearing, relying on smell to a lesser extent.
They usually stalk their prey to within a few bounds before pouncing, but they are also known to wait in ambush for hours. Rivers are often thought to act as barriers to the movement of terrestrial mammals, limiting dispersal and gene flow. In , researchers in Alaska observed two Canada Lynx repeatedly swim across a glacial-fed river in November. Lynx are also known to cross the St.
If lynx use ice-bridges to disburse in winter, climate warming could cause a reduction in the extent and longevity of this sea ice, isolating populations. Although classed as solitary animals, researchers often see groups of paired females. Female kittens establish home ranges close to that of their mothers, and travel and hunt cooperatively. The female mates with only one male, and the receptive period can last from one to ten days.
Mating usually takes place at night, and the males are especially vocal at this time. Dens can be made in hollow logs, at the base of trees, in rocky areas or in dense vegetation. The kittens nurse for three to five months, but begin to eat some solid food at one month of age. The young remain with the adult female until the following winter mating season.
Young lynx may remain together for some weeks or months after separating from the female, travelling and hunting cooperatively. Sexual maturity is reached around 23 months, although in periods of prey abundance, sexual maturity at ten months has been recorded.
Captive Canada Lynx have lived up to 21 years, and life expectancy for wild animals has been recorded at 15 years. Throughout Alaska and most of Canada, the Lynx is managed for the fur trade. From an average of 35, pelts were exported from Canada and Alaska. That number fell to 7, between The population is considered stable in the northern portion of their range.
Canada Lynx are rare and protected where they occur in south-eastern Canada. They are classed as regionally endangered in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where researchers have reported fertile hybrids between Canada Lynx and the Bobcat.
The primary threat to the cats in these areas is the expanding population of the eastern coyote. A continental scale assessment found that relevance of hybrids was low, but also found evidence that Lynx-Bobcat hybrids are able to breed. If the abundance of Canada Lynx at the southern edge of its distribution is low relative to Bobcats, gene mixing over several years could result in the loss of Lynx in those areas.
If climate warming shifts the Bobcat population northward, the likelihood of hybridization could increase. This population has become well established, and researchers are reporting increasing numbers of kittens born each year. In the United States, Canada Lynx were historically found in 25 states, but now just , km2 of critical Lynx habitat has been proposed for designation in Maine, Minnesota, Washington and the Rocky Mountains.
The main threat to these cats in the USA is habitat fragmentation.
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