Species profile

Name: lynx are a medium sized wild cat belonging to the genus Lynx. There are four distinct species including the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx, and bobcat.

Appearance: they have short tails, large padded paws for walking on snow, and distinctive tufts of hair on the tips of their ears.

Size: the smallest lynx is the bobcat (70-100 cm), followed by the Canada lynx (80-105 cm), and the Iberian lynx (85-110 cm). The biggest species is the Eurasian lynx which can measure between 80-130 cm and weigh from 18-30 kg.

Diet: lynx feed on a range of animals including deer, rabbits, birds, and foxes. The larger Eurasian lynx primarily feed on roe deer, while the other species typically target rabbits and hares.

Did you know: for thousands of years lynx have played an important role in Greek, Norse, and North American mythology. In legend they an elusive and mysterious creature, known in some American Indian traditions as the ‘keeper of secrets’. The name comes from the Greek for light and brightness due to their reflective, luminescent eyes. These eyes have led people to believe that they are capable of supernatural eyesight and have the ability to see through solid objects.

Location: the bobcat is common throughout southern Canada, the US, and northern Mexico, while the Canada lynx mainly lives in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska. In Europe the Eurasian lynx ranges through central and northern Europe, and across Asia up to Pakistan and India. Due to hunting and habitat loss they became extinct across much of Europe but, thanks to a range of reinduction efforts, they have returned to many of their old territories. By contrast, the endangered Iberian lynx is found only in the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe.

Best places to see lynx

According to reports submitted to WildSide, the best places to see lynx are as follows: