![[Photograph]: Canada lynx](/ipnf/eco/yourforest/wildlife/lynx/lynx.jpg) |
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Photo courtesy Natural Resources
Research Institute / U.S. Forest Service
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CANADA LYNX
(Lynx canadensis)
Habitat and Biology:
Lynx live in many forest habitats at high elevations in subalpine fir, spruce and lodgepole pine forests.
Lynx mostly hunt at night. Their primary food is snowshoe hares. They also eat red squirrels, other small
mammals and birds. A lynx has 2 or 3 kittens in a single litter in late spring.
Lynx seek out areas with fallen trees for dens where they give birth and raise their kittens.
Management:
Young, dense forests about 15-40 years old provide snowshoe hare habitat and hunting areas for lynx. Lynx also hunt in older forests with
abundant red squirrels. Although lynx trapping is not legal in Idaho, lynx occasionally die in traps set for other furbearers.
Interesting Facts:
- A Canada lynx can travel over 5 miles in a day.
- Sometimes a lynx will stay in one spot for hours, waiting to pounce on a hare or other animal that passes by.
- The tip of a lynx's tail is completely black, compared to
a bobcat which has black on top and white on the bottom of
the tip of its tail.
Learn more about Canada lynx:
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
U.S. Forest Service
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