The Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) is a medium-sized wild cat: a feline mammal. It is a felid.
The Eurasian Lynx has short reddish or brown fur in summer and thick, silky silver-grey to greyish-brown fur in winter, with a long grey and white ruff. Its underbelly, neck and chin are white. Its fur has black spots, although some Lynxes have dark-brown stripes on their forehead and back. It has black tufts of hair on its ears. It has powerful long legs with large webbed, furred paws to enable it to swim and to walk on snowy ground. It has a bobbed tail with a black tip.
It grows to 80-130 centimetres (31-51 inches) long and 60-75 centimetres (24-30 inches) to shoulder height. Its tail measures 11-24 centimetres (4-10 inches) long.
The Eurasian Lynx is native to northern, central, and eastern Europe, central Asia, Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Himalayan mountains. It prefers temperate forests and rugged country.
It can mew, hiss, growl, and purr.
It is a secretive animal, and it is nocturnal (active at night) or crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk). During the day, it sleeps in a well-hidden place, such as a thicket.
It eats mammals and birds, such as hares, rabbits, squirrels, foxes, boars, deers, and grouse. It stalks its prey.
The female Eurasian Lynx makes a den in a secluded location, usually underneath a tree. The den is lined with feathers, fur, and grass.
The female is pregnant for 67-74 days, before giving birth to 1-4 young, called kittens. The kittens are born blind, and they open their eyes after 10-12 days. They have plain greyish-brown fur, and gain their colouring at around 11 weeks. They leave the den after 6-7 weeks, but stay close to their mother until they are about 10 months old.
The Eurasian Lynx lives, on average, for 20 years in captivity.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM