Canadian Lynx

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Canadian Lynx^[1]

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Genus:	Lynx
Species:	L. canadensis

Binomial name

Lynx canadensis
Kerr, 1792

The Canadian Lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a close relative of the Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx). Some authorities regard both as conspecific. However, in some characteristics the Canadian Lynx is more similar to the Bobcat (Lynx rufus) than to the Eurasian Lynx.

This cat is found in northern forests across almost all of Canada and Alaska. In addition there are large populations of this lynx in Montana, Idaho and Washington. The Canadian Lynx is rare in Utah, Minnesota, and New England; reintroduction efforts in Colorado have been ongoing since 1999, with the first wild-born kittens confirmed in 2003, with many successful kindles thereafter. It is considered to be threatened in the contiguous United States.

The appearance of the Canadian Lynx is similar to that of the Eurasian Lynx: the dense fur is silvery brown and may bear blackish markings. In summer, its coat takes on a more reddish brown colour. Males are larger than females. This lynx has a furry ruff which resembles a double-pointed beard, a short tail with a black tip and long furry tufts on its ears. Its long legs with broad furred feet aid the Canadian Lynx in traveling through deep snow.

The Canadian Lynx hunts for hares, rodents and birds, sometimes killing larger animals such as deer. It relies mainly on hearing and sight to locate prey. In some areas the Snowshoe Hare is virtually the only prey of the Canadian Lynx. The size of the Canadian Lynx population tends to follow the approximately 10 year long rise and decline of Snowshoe Hare numbers.

The Canadian Lynx is a solitary and secretive animal, usually active at night, and requires a large territory. It breeds in spring and one to five kittens are born. The survival of the young depends heavily on the availability of prey species.

This animal is trapped for its fur and has declined in many areas due to habitat loss.

In the northern parts of Canada, its population can be estimated from the records kept from the number caught each year for its fur. Records have been kept by the Hudson's Bay Company and Canadian government since the 1730s. A graph of its abundance is characterized by huge rises and falls with the peaks occurring at a level typically ten times higher than the troughs and about 5 years after them, and the process then reversing itself.

This lynx is a specialist predator, eating Snowshoe Hare almost exclusively when they are available. The population variation of the lynx and the hare is an example of a predator-prey cycle. Environmental factors such as weather and forest plant growth that may affect this population variation have been studied. A number of other species that are unrelated to either animal, as far as food chains are concerned, show population cycles of similar lengths.^{[citation needed]} These include abundance of atlantic salmons, chinch bugs in Illinois, tent caterpillars, coyote, hawk owl eggs, grouse, marten, mink, muskrat, fisher and hawks.

1 Subspecies
2 Gallery
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Subspecies

The Newfoundland Lynx (Lynx canadensis subsolanus) is a subspecies of the Canadian Lynx. It is larger than the mainland subspecies. This animal is known to have killed Caribou calves when Snowshoe Hares were not available. The other two subspecies are Lynx canadensis mollipilosus and the nominate Lynx canadensis canadensis.

[edit] Gallery

[edit] References

^ Wozencraft, W. C. (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 541. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
^ Cat Specialist Group (2002). Lynx canadensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern