Range
Notes: Exterminated from New Brunswick, lower Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Just before 2002 attempts were made to reintroduce the Canada lynx into New York State.
Habitat
Found in a variety of habitats; where the snowshoe hare is found the Canadian lynx follows in the belt of boreal forest from Newfoundland to Alaska.
Kittens/reproduction
Breeding occurs mostly from March-early April. Births occur in May-June. Gestation is 63-64 days. Litter size is 1-8 kittens. Eyes open at 14 days. At 5 weeks they follow mother. At 7 months they participate in hunting. At 10 months they make their own kills (Newfoundland) when they become independent. They become fully adult at 2 years of age. A female was recorded living for almost 15 years.
Social
This is essentially a solitary cat. The usual male home range overlapping female ranges does not always apply. Sometimes female and male home ranges are mutually exclusive. Trapping of this cat interrupts usual behavior. Home ranges are in the order of 15-50 km². Lynx seem to employ the usual scent marking methods of urine spraying, depositing scent on objects and claw raking the ground.
Status in Wild
Is the Canada lynx endangered? No, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ (Red List) – the experts. Population is stable (2012). Major threat: USA – habitat fragmentation. Canada – over trapping, prey depletion, competition from other predators in eastern Canada (Coyote). The Red List assessment: Least Concern.
See: Wild Cats of Canada. See: another page focusing on conservation and questioning the trapping of this cat for its fur and the Red List assessment.
Photo credit (heading page): by USFWS Mountain Prairie
Primary source: Wild Cats of the World – ISBN-13: 978-0-226-77999-7.
