The lynx is a solitary cat that haunts the remote northern forests of North America, Europe, and Asia. Lynx are covered with beautiful thick fur that keeps them warm during frigid winters. Their large paws are also furry and hit the ground with a spreading toe motion that makes them function as natural snowshoes.
The lynx is a solitary cat that haunts the remote northern forests of North America, Europe, and Asia. Lynx are covered with beautiful thick fur that keeps them warm during frigid winters. Their large paws are also furry and hit the ground with a spreading toe motion that makes them function as natural snowshoes.
These stealthy cats avoid humans and hunt at night, so they are rarely seen.
There are several species of lynx. Few survive in Europe but those that do, like their Asian relatives, are typically larger than their North American counterpart, the Canada lynx. European lynx are now protected by the EU.
All lynx are skilled hunters that make use of great hearing (the tufts on their ears are a hearing aid) and eyesight so strong that a lynx can spot a mouse 250 feet away.
The first time I heard of a lynx was when I was reading Randall Jarrell's novel The Animal Family. I love reading this book to classes and they are always curious about the lynx because it is not something they know about.
Before the Internet, besides this book there wasn't much in the library that gave students in Australia a clear idea about a lynx... an occasional short reference in a book about Wild Cats. My school library has a copy of the long-out-of-print Jonathan London and Patrick Benson picture book Let the Lynx Come In and the more recent Life-Sized Animal Tracks by John Townsend which clearly shows what the feet of a lynx do in the snow.
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