Morphological criteria of the lynx. Where does the lynx live? Something that a predator definitely won’t refuse

In order to preserve endangered species of plants and animals, the Red Book was created. To the animals that are included in it treat and . This representative of the cat family is considered the largest of the lynx genus. It can reach more than a meter in length, with a short thin tail. Weight about 20 kg. The peculiarity of these animals is that they have tufts on the tips of their ears and wide sideburns on the sides of the head, which visually enlarges it.

Ear tassels perform an important function. With their help, the predator picks up even the quietest sounds, which is very helpful during the hunt. In addition to well-developed hearing, it has a good sense of smell and vision. He can climb trees, rocks and swim very well.

Lynx has very beautiful fur, especially in the cold season. The fur becomes very thick and soft. The color is ashen and reddish on the upper part of the body, and the belly is white. The entire body is covered with small spots. Due to this appearance, common lynxes have good camouflage abilities.

Habitat of the common lynx

Mainly lives in dense forests with thickets of windbreaks and rocky outcrops. In open forests it is almost impossible to find this animal. The common lynx can be found in the Carpathian forests. Such areas with dense vegetation create ideal living conditions for these cats. In search of food, they can go to the meadows, but remain there for a long time.

The predator does not like to migrate. And if there is enough game for food, it can spend its entire life in one territory.

What does the common lynx eat?

The main food of the lynx are hares, roe deer, rodents, and various birds.
For unknown reasons, he has a terrible dislike for foxes. She does not eat them, but does not miss the opportunity to kill them.
During the snowy season, the animal can attack larger animals. Thanks to its long legs and furry paw pads, the cat can move through the snow without difficulty.

The common lynx goes out in search of prey at nightfall. There is an opinion that it attacks prey from a tree, but this is not so. The predator prefers to wait patiently or sneak up with careful steps and attack sharply.

The animal tries to avoid people. It hears them approaching from several meters away and tries not to catch their eye. When hard times come and the lynx does not have enough food in the forest, it can enter nearby settlements to profit from a cat or dog. This predator can overcome an adult shepherd dog. But cases when they appear among people are very rare; they can mainly be found in dense coniferous forests.

Reproduction of the common lynx

The mating season for lynx falls in February and March. At this time, the animals behave very noisily. Several males follow the female and try to prove their superiority over others by starting a fight. The winner becomes the chosen one of the female. Pregnancy lasts 10 weeks. Usually the mother takes care of the offspring. She prefers to give birth to kittens between the roots of old trees or makes a nest in a hollow. The female lines this place with wool, leaves and feathers.

Children are born blind. Basically, the lynx brings two or three babies. Vision begins two weeks after birth, and kittens live off their mother’s milk for up to three months.

After this, adults begin to introduce meat into the babies’ diet. They bring captured animals to the lair. Gradually, the mother teaches the young to hunt. Until next autumn, small lynxes live under the care of their parents, after which they leave them.
Previously, these animals were considered harmful and tried in every possible way to exterminate them. But in fact, lynx plays an important role in forest biocenoses. Its presence is undesirable only on farms where they breed birds, roe deer, and deer.

The number of lynxes is rapidly decreasing. This is mainly due to the high mortality rate in childhood and the decrease in forest area. Although hunting for them, especially during the breeding season, is strictly prohibited, illegal extermination of predators still occurs, primarily because of their valuable fur. These factors significantly worsen the living conditions of animals and can lead to their complete disappearance.

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Titles: European lynx.

Area: Europe (Scandinavia, Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Ukrainian Carpathians, Russia).

Description: Lynx is a typical cat the size of a large dog. The body is short, dense, the tail is cut off. The ears are triangular, pointed, with tufts growing at the ends. The legs are long and strong. The head is small, rounded, with sideburns growing on the sides. The muzzle is short, the eyes are wide, the pupils are vertical. She sheds twice a year: in spring and autumn. The fur is long, soft, thick. Especially long hair on the belly.

Color: grayish-red with a bluish-silver or reddish tint, brown speckling on the back and sides. The belly is pure white with sparse speckling. Summer fur is coarser and shorter, and more brightly colored than winter fur. The winter coat is very thick, ranging from pale-smoky to rusty-reddish.

Size: body length 82-105 cm, tail 20-31 cm.

Weight: 8-15 kg.

Lifespan: in nature 15-20 years.

High, loud and harsh voice. When the digger is angry, she growls; when she is happy or well-fed, she purrs like a large domestic cat. During the breeding season, animals meow loudly, purr, and sometimes scream furiously.

Habitat: diverse habitats - mixed forests. Prefers dense, heavily cluttered forests.

Enemies: the main enemy is man; in winter, lynx are attacked by packs of wolves and wolverines.
Having encountered foxes, raccoon dogs, martens, feral domestic cats and the European cat, the lynx mercilessly destroys them.

Food: the basis of the diet is white hares, the rest consists of birds (grouse, partridges), rodents (mice, squirrels), small ungulates (roe deer, musk deer, sika and reindeer).

Behavior: The European lynx is an excellent hunter; during the day it lies in its den, and at dusk it becomes active. It climbs trees and rocks well and swims well. It hunts from ambush - it chooses a place from which everything is clearly visible and waits for the prey to appear. So she can lie for hours without moving. The lynx has very fine hearing and sharp vision.
The lynx walks completely silently, merging with the background of the area. Having discovered a fresh trail or seen prey, the lynx very patiently sneaks up on it.
An excellent jumper, capable of jumping up to 4 meters in length or more. It runs worse, pursues the victim at a distance of no more than 60-80 m, after which it runs out of steam. For ungulates, the lynx becomes dangerous in winter, when they get stuck in deep and loose snow.
The lynx is so careful that rarely anyone has been able to see it in the wild. It leads a sedentary lifestyle, but during severe frosts and lack of food, it goes on trips and often climbs into the forest-steppe and tundra. During the night the animal travels up to 6-10 km. An individual site is covered in 5-10 days.
A male (whose weight is 18-20 kg) in winter eats 2.5-3 kg of meat per day, and if the animal is hungry, up to 5-6.
The lynx, like most predators, crushes more animals than it needs. Despite all the caution, the lynx is not very afraid of people. In hungry years, it enters villages and large cities.

Social structure: Outside the breeding season, the lynx leads a solitary lifestyle. Males mark the boundaries of their territories with their excrement. Favorite hunting trails are also replete with marks that they make with urine.

Reproduction: the female is followed by several males who fight fiercely among themselves.
When meeting, a mating lynx pair performs a greeting ritual - after sniffing each other’s noses, they stand opposite and begin to butt heads. Friendly affection among lynxes is expressed in mutual licking of fur.
To raise offspring, the female makes a den under the upturned roots of fallen trees, in pits, earthen caves, rock crevices, and abandoned badger burrows. The den is pre-lined with wool, grass and feathers. Both parents participate in raising their offspring.

Breeding season/period: end of February - March.

Puberty: females - at 21 months, males - at 33 months.

Pregnancy: lasts 63-70 days.

Offspring: the female gives birth to 2-3 blind and deaf kittens. The weight of newborns is 250-300 g.
Eyes open on day 12. At one month, the mother begins to feed the kittens solid food. Lactation lasts up to 4 months. The young hunt with the adults until the next breeding season.

Benefit/harm for humans: The European lynx has beautiful and valuable fur. In the Middle Ages, lynx meat was considered a delicacy.
Lynx attacks on domestic animals and humans are extremely rare.
Young lynx cubs quickly become tamed and are easy to train.
In the past, the European lynx was considered a harmful animal, but in fact, it plays an important role in forest biocenoses.

Population/Conservation Status: The lynx is a widespread species.
Currently there are 7 subspecies Felis lynx: L.l. carpathicus- Carpathians, Greece, L.l. dinniki- Caucasus, Iran, Türkiye, L.l. Isabellinus- Kashmir, Mongolia, L.l. kozlovi- Central Siberia, L.l. lynx- North and East of Europe, L.l. neglectus- Far East, China, L.l. wrangeli- Eastern Siberia.

Lynx - ours for you with a brush!

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The common lynx is not so common; on the contrary, it is mysterious and enigmatic. Even the ancient Greeks endowed it with magical powers and believed that the beast could see through objects. In Scandinavian mythology, the lynx was considered a sacred animal.

According to legends, she accompanied the goddess of love, beauty and fertility Freya everywhere, harnessed to her chariot. One of the constellations of the northern hemisphere, which can only be seen by people with very sharp eyesight, is named after this animal - the constellation Lynx.

However, lynxes were not only worshiped and glorified in legends, they were mercilessly killed, and their meat was eaten. The nobility were guilty of this very dubious practice in the Middle Ages. The meat of the animal was famous for its excellent taste and healing properties; it was served as a delicacy during various feasts. Gorgeous, expensive fur coats were made from beautiful and warm fur. Such a strange “love” for the animal significantly affected its numbers and in some European countries led to complete extermination.

Habitat

The predator belongs to the cat family and the lynx genus. He is the largest of the lynx brethren. It is not afraid of harsh winters, moves well on loose and deep snow cover, and does not fall through like other animals. Habitat: taiga, forest-tundra, forest-steppe, dark coniferous forests and mountainous terrain.

If previously the animal’s distribution area covered most of Europe, now it is scattered across it in small islands with sparse populations. The animal is found in the Carpathians, central Russia, including Kamchatka and Sakhalin, Finland, Spain, Macedonia, and Croatia. It is found in Belarus, Greece, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Estonia, Albania, even the Arctic.

Subspecies

The classification of the common lynx (Lynx lynx) is updated from time to time with new subspecies. There is still no general opinion regarding their number in the scientific community. Currently, we can talk about ten known subspecies. Individuals are not much different from each other; they are very similar in their lifestyle, habits, taste preferences and external features.

1. Baikal subspecies(Lynx lynx Kozlovi) - common in Siberia, possibly Mongolia, endowed with thick fur and bright spotted coloring.
2. Carpathian subspecies(Lynx lynx Carpathica) - has a rusty-brown color with clearly defined spotting, medium-hard fur and quite large sizes.
3. European subspecies(Lynx lynx lynx) - occupies a vast range, which includes Sweden, Russia, Belarus, the Baltic countries, Ukraine, Norway, Poland and Finland. It is distinguished by a short body, long legs, and not very lush reddish fur with a faded spotted pattern.
4. Amur or Far Eastern subspecies(Lynx lynx Sroganovi) - inhabits the Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories, northeast China, can attack young moose.
5. Altai subspecies(Lynx lynx Wardi) is considered by some scientists to be part of the Turkestan subspecies. This is a rather large animal with thick and fluffy hair. gray fur with a cream tint and shaded spotting.
6. Turkestan or Central Asian subspecies(Lynx lynx Isabellina) - a little studied subspecies, has medium size and the lightest color of winter fur.
7. Caucasian subspecies(Lynx lynx Dinniki) - distributed throughout the Caucasus, has sparse, coarse and short fur, the smallest of its species.
8. Balkan subspecies(Lynx lynx Balcanica) - lives in Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, no more than 50 individuals remain in the wild.
9. Yakut or East Siberian subspecies(Lynx lynx Wrangeli) - distinguished by its largest size, lush, almost uniform fur.
10. Subspecies Lynx lynx Sardiniae once inhabited the island of Sardinia. The animals were completely exterminated at the beginning of the 20th century.

Appearance

In appearance the animal resembles a cat, and in size it resembles a rather large dog.

• The dense, somewhat shortened body reaches a length of 80–120 cm (depending on the subspecies) and ends with a short, stubby tail up to 20 or a little more centimeters long. Body height at the shoulders is up to 70 cm.
• An adult common lynx weighs 18–26 kg; males can gain body weight up to 30 kg; females, as a rule, do not weigh more than 20 kg.
• The legs are quite long, strong and muscular. In winter, the area of ​​the feet is covered with a long, hard, brush-like edge (helps the predator easily move through the snow, using paws like skis, and not fall into the snowdrifts).
• The head against the background of a powerful torso looks small and has a rounded shape. The muzzle, somewhat flattened towards the nose, is decorated on the sides with characteristic fluffy sideburns.
• The eyes are large, wide, with round pupils, like those of large wild cats. Thanks to their special anatomical structure, they allow the animal to see small objects in pitch darkness.
• The ears, in the shape of a triangle, are set high, of medium size, ending at the very top with thin, long, black tassels - antennae. Once a lynx loses its miracle tassels, its hearing immediately becomes dull and it is no longer so well oriented in space.
• The mustache is sparse, of medium length, located on the muzzle on both sides of the nose.
• The coat is thick, long, fluffy and silky.
• The color depends on the time of year and the region where it lives, usually gray with an ashen tint or reddish. Spotting is more pronounced in the Carpathian and Baikal subspecies. In the photo of the common lynx of the Yakut subspecies, it is almost invisible; in the European and Altai lynx, the spotting is faded and blurred. In winter, the fur is longer than in summer, it looks especially fluffy and beautiful, the length of the pile on the belly can reach 6 - 7 cm. The belly is painted white with rare, not bright spots. The back of the ears is black with white markings. The tail is gray with small dark markings, intensely black at the very tip.

Lifestyle and behavior

A solitary lifestyle is exclusively the lot of males, while females constantly have to take care of their offspring, and rare periods of loneliness are associated with the anticipation of the next replenishment. The size of hunting grounds depends on the amount of food, terrain features and gender. Males occupy large areas of 100 to 200 km 2 or more. Females are limited to a territory of 20–60 km2.

If there is enough food and there are no other compelling reasons for migration, the animals lead a sedentary lifestyle and rarely leave the developed areas. The living space is marked with urine. Females are jealous of encroachments on personal territory, they can give a big beating to the intruder, males do not pay much attention to uninvited guests, and rarely enter into conflicts.

They do not show spontaneous aggression towards humans; there are no reliably confirmed cases of attack. The predator is easily tamed and gets used to its owner. Sometimes it is given into the hands, caressed and purrs loudly at the same time. Wounded and sick animals pose a danger - in defending themselves, they are capable of causing serious wounds. Conflict situations are also possible - the animal sometimes carries domestic game and attacks dogs.

Hunting and food

Lynx hunts at any time of the day, but still it is more of a nocturnal predator. It chooses twilight for hiking: early morning or sunset hours, and often goes for prey in the dark night. In search of a victim, it can run more than one kilometer; in times of hunger, it covers up to 20–30 km per day.

The spotted predator is a fast and agile hunter. He climbs trees excellently, has acute hearing and vision, runs briskly, jumps far and high. The hunting method is chosen according to the circumstances: either it pursues the prey and quickly attacks from a short distance, or it guards it from ambush. In case of failure, the game does not pursue for a long time and looks out for other, more suitable prey. The beast bites into the throat of a large animal, and grabs a smaller one from the back.

A killed baby deer or large hare lasts for several days. The lynx hides the remains of the hunting trophy in the snow or takes it to a secluded place. He does this quickly and sloppily, and therefore often loses his provisions. Other predators find the caches and quickly destroy them.

The lynx's entire diet consists of meat. The main menu includes hares and small rodents. Delicacies include venison, hazel grouse, baby wild boars and elk. The animal refuses nothing, rejoices at any prey and feasts on whatever it manages to catch.

Reproduction and care of offspring

The common lynx reaches sexual maturity at the age of 20 months. The peak of the mating season is in the month of March. The female meets with several males. After mating, she does not always separate from the male, and he can take part in raising the offspring.

Pregnancy lasts about 2.5 months. From 2 to 5 kittens are born - helpless, blind and almost deaf. Their mother hides them in a secluded place and feeds them with milk for up to three months. The weight of one kitten does not exceed 300 grams. Babies begin to see the light in the second week of life. From two months of age, parents begin to feed them meat. From three to four months, the mother tries to teach them the wisdom of hunting. By the age of one year, the young generation leaves their parents and begins an independent life.

Under natural conditions, the animal lives no more than 15–20 years. In captivity, lynx can live up to 25 years.

Number of species

The population numbers just over 10 thousand individuals. The animal has long been exterminated in France and Switzerland. Several dozen individuals live on the Balkan Peninsula, in Poland there are about a thousand, in Scandinavia - 2.5 thousand, in the Carpathians - 2.2 thousand. Small populations remain in the countries of Central Asia and Transcaucasia. The largest number of lynxes lives in Siberia.

Intensive measures are being taken to protect the animal, thanks to which the population is gradually recovering. It is included in the International Red Book.

Despite the fact that the fur of the animal is highly valued, the lynx genus has no commercial significance. However, the predator plays an important role in the biocenosis - it regulates the populations of many mammals and birds, and is a forest cleaner. Therefore, in places where lynxes used to live, scientists are attempting to reintroduce the animals into the natural environment. In Germany, the reintroduction of the animal, after complete extermination, into the Bavarian forest took place at the end of the 20th century.

The presence of lynxes is undesirable only near pheasant nurseries and reindeer herding farms. For their owners, such a neighborhood becomes a real disaster and results in catastrophic losses. After all, the animal destroys commercial game, even when completely unhungry, simply for the sake of sporting interest.

In ancient times, the lynx was endowed with magical powers; people believed that this unusual animal could see through objects and walls. In ancient Greek and Scandinavian mythology, the lynx was considered a sacred animal, which everywhere accompanies the goddess of love, beauty and fertility - Freya.

Astrologers also believe in the magical properties of this feline representative. When studying various constellations, you can find a lot of interesting information about a small but very beautiful one called the Lynx constellation.

But there is also information that this wild cat was not only worshiped, but also hunted, killing and eating its meat. The taste of the meat of this animal has always been famous and its medicinal properties are also known. Fur was very popular in past centuries, and even today. Expensive fur coats are made from it.

Due to all the hunting manipulations, it was completely exterminated in some European countries, and in the rest of the world the population decreased so much that the animal was on the verge of extinction. Scientists are trying to artificially recreate the population where the lynx lives, but so far this is going at a very slow pace.

Habitat

This predator belongs to the cat family and the lynx genus. This animal is not afraid of cold, harsh winters, moves well through snow drifts and does not fall through like other animals. He usually lives in the taiga, forest steppes, tundras, mountainous areas and dense coniferous forests.

Over the years, the distribution area of ​​wild cats has become much smaller. Previously, the animal lived in most of Europe, now it is found in the Carpathians, central Russia, Kamchatka and Sakhalin. But the lynx also lives in Finland, Spain, and Croatia. Sometimes you can find the animal in the countries of the former Soviet Union. The lynx loves open space and adapts well to the wild, hunting wild animals smaller than it.

Lynx: description

Body length of an adult animal about seventy to one hundred and thirty centimeters, females are usually slightly smaller than males. The cat weighs about twenty kilograms. The common lynx has a rounded head, with beautiful ears and tufts of fur at their tips.

Those interested in these felines primarily want to know things like:

• Where does the lynx live?
• How does the European lynx differ from other species;
• Description of the common lynx and much more.

Subspecies

The classification of the common lynx is occasionally replenished with new subspecies. Nowadays, ten subspecies are known for certain. Animals have a small amount differences from each other, they have a similar lifestyle, behavior and taste preferences.

Nutrition

This type of predator, like everyone else, they eat mainly meat. The animal's diet is based on hares, birds, and small rodents. But the lynx can also hunt larger individuals - deer, elk, wild boar. If a cat lives in places where there are large bodies of water, it can catch fish and eat it. She can hunt domestic animals if she lives near human habitation.

Usually the lynx goes hunting early in the morning, between three and six o’clock, while it is still just dawn. She usually tracks her future victim for a long time, studying habits and character, and only after that she attacks. She does it sharply as it should, making several long jumps of two to three meters each . If the lynx fails to catch prey immediately, then chasing her for several hundred meters, she, as a rule, retreats and waits for another opportune moment.

In order to lead a normal life, an animal needs to eat from one to three kilograms of meat per day. If it does not eat enough of its prey, it usually buries it in the ground or hides it in the snow. Sometimes following the lynx other predators walk around and pick up half-eaten remains.

As a rule, this cat prefers to live in one place all the time and has a sedentary lifestyle. Only in very rare cases does she move to another area. This usually happens if there is a threat of extinction of the prey and the lynx begins to starve.

Reproduction

Typically, the mating season for lynxes begins at the end of winter - in February, and lasts until the beginning of April. At this time, the males find out which of them will be the partner of the female they have chosen.

Female pregnancy lasts from one and a half to two months. As a rule, females make a den; they organize it several hours before the appearance of offspring. As a home, animals choose tree hollows located at a height of at least ten to fifteen meters from the ground or splits in rocks.

In April or early May, babies appear; in a brood, as a rule, there are from two to three, in some cases up to five. Newborn kittens are small, blind and helpless. They are born weighing no more than three hundred grams, but quickly gain weight afterward.

Lynxes live in the wild usually from fifteen to twenty years. If they are in captivity, their lifespan can increase to twenty-five to thirty years.

It is believed that the lynx was named after the mythical hero Lucius, who was able to see through things.

There is even a special community called the “Lynx Academy”, it was formed in Italy in the 17th century.

Peculiarities

This animal lives in Eurasia, Kamchatka, and North America. Previously, the lynx was also found in European countries, but due to the demand for its fur, it was almost completely exterminated in these territories. Currently listed in the Red Book.

There are the following varieties: Canadian, Iberian, red and common lynx, below are several photos of this animal.

Externally, the lynx looks like a huge cat, usually about 1 meter long. The weight of males can reach 25-30 kg, females weigh about 20 kg. The lynx's fur is very thick.

As for color, it can be reddish, brown or gray (it all depends on where it lives). The sides and back are covered with dark spots.

It should also be noted that the lynx has a tail of a very unusual shape, as if it was deliberately shortened. Winter wool is longer than summer wool and thicker.

Molting occurs twice a year. The front legs are longer than the hind legs, which allows the lynx to make very impressive jumps.

Another interesting feature is that the lynx’s hind paws have five toes, and the front paws have four.

In winter, the lynx's sole is covered with dense fur to make it more comfortable for it to move through snowy areas. The lynx's walking style is the same as that of a wolf and a tiger; its hind paws follow the tracks of its front paws.

The lynx is an animal that has excellent hearing, all thanks to special tassels on the edge of the ears; these tassels act as a kind of antenna.

Lifestyle and habits

The lynx mainly lives in the taiga or mountain forests. Excellent for climbing trees. Lynx feels great even at temperatures of minus 60 degrees. The territory where the lynx lives and hunts can reach an area of ​​more than 200 square meters. km, and she can cover this territory in about a week and a half.

The lynx changes location only due to food shortage. One of the lynx's most important enemies is wolves. A lynx cannot escape from wolves. Only those who hide in the trees are saved.

But it should be noted that the main danger to the lynx is people, namely poachers.

The lynx's perfect hearing often allows it to hide from hunters. A lynx's claws, as well as its teeth, can cause very significant harm to a person who disturbs it.

Nutrition

Lynx is an excellent hunter. What allows her to hunt successfully is her ability to easily climb branches and even rocks, as well as the fact that she has excellent hearing and vision.

She goes out hunting very early in the morning (at about three o'clock in the morning). She can wait for the victim absolutely motionless for several hours.

To reach her prey, she easily jumps several meters forward. The speed at which a lynx pursues its prey can reach 20-40 km/h.

For a lynx to live comfortably, it is necessary to consume more than three kilograms of meat per day. If she is very hungry, she will easily eat more than five kilograms; the remaining food, as a rule, is very carelessly buried, which is why other animals discover it.

The lynx mainly feeds on hares, birds, as well as squirrels and other rodents. But larger victims also happen: deer, elk, and even wild boars. Also, the lynx will not pass by livestock. In the spring it can catch fish that spawn near the shore.

Reproduction

The mating season for lynx begins in early spring and lasts until summer. As a rule, several males permanently follow the female, while starting fights and growling.

The female then makes a choice and the couple starts a family.

They often line their house with feathers or grass.

Lynx cubs appear after approximately 2.5 months, usually three or four of them. Each weight is approximately 300-350 g. After a week, the kitten begins to develop hunting instincts. To do this, the parents hide some small rodent not far from the kitten, and the kitten has to find it himself.

When the lynx cubs are about two months old, both parents go hunting and leave them unattended, which is why the lynx cubs sometimes become victims of predators, most often they are attacked by foxes, but attacks by dogs also happen.

At about six months of age, they are already trying to get their own food without outside help.

When the kittens turn one year old, their mother separates them from herself in order to have new offspring.

Life expectancy in the wild is approximately 20-25 years. At the moment, a breed called “domestic lynx” has been bred, this was done specifically for those who want to have such an animal in their home, or even apartment.

Photo of lynx