Wild Cats of the World

The Eurasian Lynx is classified in the Lynx lineage and is closely related to both the Canada Lynx and Iberian Lynx. Some authorities formerly classified the Eurasian Lynx and Canada Lynx together as one species but genetic analysis confirms they are distinct with a common ancestor around 1.5 million years ago. As many as nine Eurasian Lynx subspecies are described. There are some genetic differences between European populations, suggesting separation into three subspecies: Carpathian Lynx L. l. carpathicus in the Carpathian Mountains (and most western European populations, which were reintroduced); Balkan Lynx L. l. balcanicus, restricted to the south-western Balkans, mainly the border regions of Albania and Macedonia; and Northern Lynx L. l. lynx in the rest of Europe, including Fennoscandia, the Baltic States, north-eastern Poland and western Russia to the Yenisei River, and central Siberia. Differentiation between populations across their vast Russo-Asiatic range is unclear, but historically, the following subspecies are described: L. l. dinniki (Turkey, Caucasus and northern Iran); L. l. isabellinus (central Asia); L. l. wardi (Altai Mountains); L. l. kozlovi (northern Mongolia and southern Siberia); L. l. wrangeli (eastern Siberia, east of the Yenisei River); and L. l. stroganovi (Russian Far East).

The Eurasian Lynx is the largest lynx species by a considerable margin, weighing twice as much on average as the Canada Lynx or Bobcat. Like all lynx, the species has a relatively lightly built body with elongated legs and large feet giving it a tall, leggy appearance, and a very short, black-tipped tail. The hindlimbs are longer then the forelimbs, raising the hindquarters in a characteristic sloping back appearance, and the paws are densely covered with fur in the winter to facilitate moving on snow. The head is the most heavily built of all lynx species. Each ear is darkly furred on the back with a pale central spot and has a conspicuous long, black tuft. The fur is soft and dense, with variable background colour including shades of silver-grey, yellowish, tawny and reddish-brown. The amount of spotting varies widely, falling broadly into four categories: largely unspotted in which only the lower legs and underparts are distinctly marked; small discrete dab-like spots covering the body, becoming larger on the lower limbs; large discrete spots and blotches all over the body; and elongated rosettes with dark coloured centres. There is intergradation between types and all types can occur in the same population. The winter coat in most populations is paler and less noticeably marked (as well as being longer and thicker) than in summer, and northern populations tend to be paler.

Similar species The closely related Canada Lynx is very similar in appearance but the two species are not sympatric. The Caracal is superficially similar but is smaller, uniformly coloured and lacks distinct features of the Eurasian Lynx such as a black-tipped tail and prominent facial ruff. The two species are sympatric only in a very narrow band across south-east Turkey, north-east Iran and south-west Tajikistan.

The Eurasian Lynx has an extensive and largely contiguous distribution in the broad temperate forest belt covering most of Fennoscandia through Russia (which contains 75 per cent of the range) to the Bering Sea coast in the east, and south into neighbouring countries from north-east China through northern Mongolia and northern Kazakhstan to Poland in the west. The distribution runs south from the Russian Altai Mountains through most of Central China (circumventing the Taklimakan Desert) and neighbouring countries along the Tien Shan Mountains and Himalayas. The distribution is patchy in northern Iran, the Caucasus and Turkey. Eurasian Lynx were extirpated from most of western Europe, with populations surviving in the Carpathian Mountains and the south Dinaric Mountains in Greece, Macedonia and Albania. Populations have been re-established by reintroduction in Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, France, Germany, Slovenia and Switzerland. Eurasian Lynx have a fairly broad habitat tolerance and occur in all types of temperate forest, open woodlands, scrub and tundra provided there is cover. They inhabit rocky habitats with sparse vegetation in montane areas (for example, in the Himalayas) and cold, rocky semi-desert (for example, on the Tibetan Plateau). They avoid very open habitats and cannot inhabit heavily modified landscapes, such as extensive agriculture, though they inhabit rural and peri-urban mosaics of forest, plantations, meadows and fields where suitable prey occurs, for example in western Europe. They occur from sea level to 4,700m in the Himalayas and exceptionally to 5,500m.

The Eurasian Lynx is the only species in the genus that specialises in ungulates. It is capable of killing prey to the size of adult Red Deer (~220kg), though their staple diet is made up of small to mid-sized ungulates and the juveniles of larger species. The most important prey across approximately half of the range are two species of roe deer: the European Roe Deer and Siberian Roe Deer, whose combined distribution overlaps around 50 per cent of Lynx distribution. Regionally, other important ungulate prey includes Northern Chamois, Siberian Musk Deer, and juvenile Red Deer, Sika Deer, Moose, ibex, Caucasian tur and Wild Boar. Lynx in the Tibetan Plateau, China, are recorded preying on Chiru (Tibetan Antelope), Tibetan Gazelle and Blue Sheep. In south-western Finland where Roe Deer were formerly absent (but now increasing), introduced White-tailed Deer from North America are abundant and form the primary prey. Ungulates are especially important prey in winter when some species (for example, Roe Deer) aggregate at feeding sites and snow increases their vulnerability to predation; exceptional kills of large ungulates including adult Sika Deer and Red Deer typically occur in deep snow with a crust that supports the Eurasian Lynx but not the deer. The availability of suitable ungulate prey declines where northern boreal forest (taiga) thins at the northern parts of the Lynx’s range, especially in northern Russia and northern Fennoscandia. In these regions, lagomorphs replace ungulates as the primary prey, and the large hares, Mountain and Brown Hares, are most important. Hares, particularly the Woolly Hare, also appear to be important prey for Lynx in the Tibetan Plateau where Roe Deer or analogous species do not occur.

Throughout much of the Lynx’s range, the diet becomes more diverse from spring to early autumn and small prey is more often consumed, mainly pikas, hares, small rodents, squirrels, marmots and birds, especially Black-billed Capercaillie, grouse and ptarmigan. Lynx quite often kill smaller carnivores that may or may not be eaten, especially Red Fox and incidentally Tibetan Fox, Raccoon Dog, Pine Marten, Eurasian Badger, Eurasian Otter, American Mink (introduced) and Wildcat. Cannibalism is recorded rarely. Incidental prey includes amphibians, fish and invertebrates. Eurasian Lynx kill livestock, poultry and domestic carnivores. Semi-domesticated Reindeer are the primary prey in parts of northern Scandinavia where other ungulates are absent or very scarce; for example, 93 per cent of biomass consumed by Lynx adjacent to Sarek National Park, northern Sweden. In southern Norway, Lynx take significant numbers of unattended sheep, almost all of them lambs preyed upon in summer when sheep are free-ranging and Roe Deer are less available. Roe Deer, however, are the most important prey in winter. Lynx in Russia are recorded taking domestic dogs (rarely) and cats from villages; domestic cats are regularly recorded in the diet elsewhere including Finland and are sometimes killed but rarely eaten in Switzerland.

Eurasian Lynx hunt primarily at night with peaks in activity especially at dusk and less so at dawn. Diurnal activity is more common during winter and the breeding season, and when females have young kittens. Hunting is largely terrestrial; there is a record from Russia of a Lynx apparently leaping from a tree onto a female Sika Deer as it passed below. Like the closely related Canada Lynx, Eurasian Lynx search for prey by a combination of following game trails and lying in ‘hunting beds’ near potential ambush sites, such as along trails or at the edges of open feeding areas of ungulates. Lynx in the Bohemian Forest, Czech Republic, were found to regularly use tourist trails and their kills tended to be close to trails. Ungulates are usually killed by asphyxiation with a throat bite. There are numerous records of Lynx leaping onto the back of large ungulates and being carried up to 80m before bringing the animal down. Small prey are typically killed by a bite to the skull or nape.

Hunting success (revealed mainly by snow tracking) is generally high although estimates are biased towards winter when prey, especially ungulates, are more vulnerable; for example, Lynx in Sweden had very high success rates of 74 per cent hunting Reindeer, 52 per cent hunting Roe Deer and 40 per cent hunting hares. A later study in northern Sweden (where Roe Deer are absent) estimated similar rates: 83 per cent success while hunting Reindeer and 53 per cent for small species (hares, gamebirds and Red Foxes). Elsewhere in the range, success rates have been estimated at 18−43 per cent while hunting hares. On average, each individual Lynx annually kills an estimated 43 ungulates (for subadult Lynx) to 73−92 ungulates (for adult females and males). Adult Lynx preying mainly on hares in Finland each kill an estimated 120−130 a year. Eurasian Lynx cache prey by covering with snow, grass or leaves, and feed on large kills for five to seven days. They rarely scavenge, typically only when food-stressed such as during harsh winters or when debilitated. A Lynx in Russia scavenged from the carcass of a dead domestic dog. Lynx occasionally abandon carcasses to competitors including Grey Wolves, Wolverines and Wild Boar. Humans (mainly hunters) fairly regularly steal Lynx kills in Norway and Slovenia for their own use.

The Eurasian Lynx is solitary and broadly territorial, with the best available information from populations in western Europe and Fennoscandia; less information is available from Russian and Asian populations. Male ranges are larger than female ranges, and overlap between males is greater than between females. Both sexes demarcate territorial boundaries with urine-marks but home ranges are generally too large to permit a high degree of exclusivity, except in small core areas. Little is known about territorial defence but encounters between adults are occasionally fatal; a resident five-year-old male in Norway was found fatally injured by another male. Range size increases from south to north reflecting the availability of prey, with the largest ranges occurring in areas where Lynx depend mainly on hares. These populations are also subject to dramatic, cyclical fluctuations in hare numbers (as for the Canada Lynx), which may make home ranges less stable. Although not as well studied as for the Canada Lynx, hare shortages appear to provoke a similar pattern of Eurasian Lynx expanding the size of their range and abandoning it entirely if hare populations remain low for a protracted period. Presumably, as for Canada Lynx, the recovery of hare numbers permits these Eurasian Lynx to re-establish stable ranges.

The size of home ranges across the distribution varies from 98km² to 1,850km² for females and 180km² to 3,000km² for males. Range size estimates are best known for well-studied populations preying mainly on ungulates in which range size differences can be explained mostly by declining ungulate density from south to north. Among such populations, average range sizes for females and males respectively are: 106−168km² and 159−264km² (north-west Alps and Jura Mountains, France and Switzerland); 133km² and 248km² (Bialowieza Primeval Forest, Poland); 177km² and 200km² (Kočevje, southern Slovenia); 409km² and 709km² (Sarek, northern Sweden); 350km² and 812km² (Akershus, southern Norway); 561km² and 1,515km² (Nord-Trøndelag, central Norway); and 832km² and 1,456km² (Hedmark, southern Norway). Range size is expected to be very large in most of Russia and the Tibetan Plateau. Density estimates include 0.25 Lynx per 100km² (southern Norway), 0.4 Lynx per 100km² (Bavarian National Park, Germany), 1.5 Lynx per 100km² (Swiss Alps) and 1.9−3.2 per 100km² (Poland).

Eurasian Lynx are seasonal breeders. Mating occurs in February to mid-April with a peak in late March. Oestrus lasts three to five days and gestation lasts 67−74 days. Births occur in May to early July. Litter size is typically one to four kittens, typically two and very exceptionally five. In captivity, young Eurasian Lynx kittens (five to nine weeks old) sometimes fight seriously, in some cases with severe injury or death of one kitten, despite the mother intervening. The reasons for this unusual behaviour are unclear and it is suspected but not confirmed for wild litters. Independence occurs at 9−11 months (rarely as young as six months) before the mother’s next litter, in January to May of the following year. Most families break up in March and April at the peak of the mating period. Subadults often linger in the natal range for a few months before dispersing which usually occurs by 16 months old. Both sexes may disperse, though females are more likely than males to establish ranges within or close to those of their mothers. Information on dispersal distances is limited: 7.4−97.3km (Jura Mountains and north-eastern Swiss Alps, Switzerland) and 5−129km (Białowieza Primeval Forest, Poland). The best data come from Scandinavia where large numbers of dispersers have been radio-tracked at four sites, showing that males disperse two to five times as far as females: 15−69km (mean, with a maximum of 215km) for females, and 83−205km (mean, with a maximum of 428km) for males. Females are sexually mature at 8−12 months but the earliest that wild females breed is after their second winter at 22−24 months. In the Swiss Alps, around 50 per cent of females first breed at this age, and 50 per cent first breed a year later. Males are sexually mature at 19−24 months and will generally not breed in the wild until 33−36 months old.

Mortality Natural mortality of adult Lynx appears to be low. In Norway and Sweden, natural mortality of adults across five sites was only 2 per cent annually but this increased to 17 per cent when anthropogenic factors were included. Between 44 and 60 per cent of subadults die during dispersal (Switzerland). Annual kitten mortality is usually at least 50 per cent; 59−60 per cent of Swiss kittens die before independence. Mortality in well-monitored populations is largely due to people, for example 70 per cent of 124 Lynx deaths in Switzerland for 1974–2002 (including poaching and accidental causes such as roadkills). Illegal killing (poaching) alone accounted for 46 per cent of known Lynx deaths from five sites in Scandinavia. Predation occurs occasionally by Wolverines (on young animals), Grey Wolves and Tigers. Domestic dogs rarely kill kittens and young animals in poor condition. Infectious disease is uncommon. The most common cause of death (aside from anthropogenic killing) in a sample of 146 dead Lynx from Sweden was sarcoptic mange, a sometimes debilitating skin condition resulting from mite infestation in which death is usually by secondary infection. Sarcoptic mange is the most common disease seen in European populations although it does not appear to have population-level impacts.

Lifespan Up to 18 years (females) and 20 (males) in the wild; up to 25 years in captivity.

STATUS AND THREATS

Globally, the Eurasian Lynx is considered secure with large areas of its massive range still relatively intact and fairly well protected or uninhabited. This is especially so in Russia where the population is estimated, roughly, to be 30,000−40,000. Mongolia and especially China also hold vast, essentially continuous areas of range but densities are lower than in forested habitat further north, and status in these countries is poorly known. Excluding Russia, the total population in Europe is estimated at 8,000, and their range has expanded significantly since the 1950s to 1960s; strongholds are in Fennoscandia (~2,800), the Carpathians (~2,800) and the Baltic States (~2,000). Populations in western Europe have undergone recovery resulting from reintroduction but all are small, isolated and considered Endangered. The relict population of around 80 Lynx in the Balkans is Critically Endangered and possibly stable due to concerted conservation efforts in Albania. Status is poorly known in central Asia.

Lynx declines are driven mainly by overhunting of their ungulate prey by people and the loss of habitat. Lynx are relatively adaptable and tolerate some human presence but they disappear from areas lacking suitable cover, prey and tolerance from people. Illegal killing by deer hunters and pastoralists keeping sheep and semi-domestic Reindeer (Scandinavia) is regarded as the main threat to the small populations in Europe. Road and rail accidents can be significant sources of mortality to populations in developed areas, for example 34 cases (of 143) in Sweden from 1987 to 2001, and 16 cases (of 124) in Switzerland from 1974 to 2002. International trade in Lynx fur was formerly significant but is technically illegal now with the exception of Russia, which sells about 1,000 furs a year. Although trade in Lynx is banned in China, Lynx fur is commonly sold domestically, and similar illegal killing for fur happens elsewhere in the Asiatic range. Sport-hunting (sometimes for fur) is legal in much of their Russo-European range; the largest numbers are taken by Russia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway and Sweden.

CITES Appendix II. Red List: Least Concern. Population trend: Stable.