Eurasian Lynx

The Eurasian Lynx is a solitary, medium-sized wildcat known for its tufted ears, striking eyes, and thick seasonal coat.

Full Name: Eurasian Lynx

Latin Name: Felis Lynx

Classification: Mammal

Adult Weight: Up to 30kg for males and 18 kg for females.

Adult Length: From approx 81 to 130 cm.

Lifespan: Can live up to 17 years in the wild

Preferred Habitat: Mixed woodland and scrub, mountainous and forested areas.

Status: Extinct in Britain since 700 AD, but making a positive comeback across Central Europe.

The Eurasian Lynx once ranged across much of Europe and Asia, © ambquinn, Pixabay

Eurasian Lynx

Once native to Britain, this elusive predator now thrives in the forests of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. A key candidate for rewilding, the lynx plays an important role in maintaining balanced ecosystems. Though shy and rarely seen, its quiet presence is vital to the health of its habitat.

Why are Lynx Important to Rewilding?

Although not the most obvious contestant amongst favourite large carnivores, the European Lynx holds a special role as one of the most accessible candidates for rewilding due to its small size and shyness, and therefore its reduced threat level to humans and animals. They prey almost exclusively on roe deer, meaning risk to livestock is minimal, especially when compared to other carnivorous candidates like the wolf.

Lynx were once native to Britain, however, as their natural forested habitat declined as humans cut down trees for timber, they increasingly became a threat to livestock and were hunted to extinction by humans. The last lynx in Britain lived as far back as the dark ages (700 AD) making the differences in landscape between then and now particularly significant to consider for any rewilding project to be successful.

The effect lynx have on roe deer is considerable, in controlling their numbers and "keeping them on their toes," which affects their grazing behaviour. A study in Belarus found that on average a male lynx will kill a roe deer every six days, while a female with dependent cubs will hunt even more frequently. This is of enormous significance when considering them for rewilding in Britain, where roe deer currently number half a million and their uncontrolled browsing inhibits the growth of young trees.

A lynx’s winter coat blending perfectly with the snowy landscape, © Klaas Huizenga

Past Lynx Rewilding Efforts

Lynx have been successfully rewilded in the past - once extinct from Central Europe for over two hundred years, a reintroduction program in the 70s meant they are now present in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, and other European countries. There have generally been no issues with population after this and there are now thought to be over 17,000 lynx in Europe!

Lynx are essential for maintaining balanced ecosystems by controlling prey populations, © Andrei Armiagov

Current & Future Lynx Rewilding Projects

Current rewilding efforts in the UK include proposals to reintroduce Lynx in several places that are in line with their natural habitat. These include Northumberland’s Kielder forest, as well as parts of the Scottish highlands.

However, due to challenges in the way habitats have changed since the lynx was last present in the UK, this is a difficult task, as available prey, habitat fragmentation, and the possibility of lynx coming into contact with humans and especially dog walkers must be taken into account.

Eurasian Lynx have a strong preference for habitats with a mix of forest and open areas, © ambquinn, Pixabay

The lynx’s fur is highly prized, which led to extensive hunting in the past, © Garden-GG, Pixabay

Physical Description

The Lynx is a small wildcat roughly the size of a labrador with pointed, tufted ears and sharp teeth. It is striking due to the pale colour of its eyes, which show up easily in the darkness, and for it’s two coat colours, which vary depending on the season. With a ruff of fur around its neck, it has a short, reddish brown colouring in the summer and silver grey hair in the winter, which is much longer. It has large padded paws that enable it to walk on snow in its native ranges, as well as aiding in hunting by allowing it a silent approach.

Eurasian Lynx are mostly nocturnal, preferring to hunt under the cover of darkness, © NickyPe, Pixabay

Lynx Behaviour

Generally a shy animal, the lynx is solitary and does not live in packs like the wolf does. It prefers to keep itself to itself and lives in forests and on the edges of them, venturing out to hunt when it feels safe enough to do so, which it does by ambush predation, with a preference for large herbivores. However, it will take prey ranging from hares to wild goats.

Otherwise, it competes for food with other predatory animals such as the wolf and golden eagle. They also predate foxes, a mid-level or mesopredator, which has a huge knock-on effect for birds, especially those which nest on the ground such as wading birds, cranes and even some raptors.

What Threats do Lynx Face?

The lynx is not generally considered to be threatened in the vast majority of its range, as it inhabits difficult to reach areas where it does not regularly cross paths with human interests. However, in western Europe and the UK, its previous threats were hunting and habitat fragmentation. These two factors also influence each other, as hungry lynx that have lost their habitat and therefore are more likely then to prey on human livestock and face threats from hunters or protective livestock owners as a result.

Lynx kittens begin learning to hunt by watching their mother and practising on small prey, © HE1958, Pixabay

Lynx are solitary animals, preferring to live and hunt alone, © Dani Jara

What do Lynx Eat?

The Eurasian lynx is one of the biggest lynx species worldwide and as such is able to take down animals as large as roe deer. It is otherwise opportunistic, lying in wait for convenient prey and generally hunting whatever is the most readily available for it.

It also eats some smaller prey animals, such as rabbits and hares. Lynx require a mosaic or patchwork habitat of trees, open areas, and scrub in order to survive as these are the most favourable conditions for most of its prey.

Lynx can leap up to 2 meters in a single bound, a vital skill for hunting, © Marco Carli

Cultural Significance

Even if you don’t live anywhere where you can spot lynx in the wild, if you look up at the night sky you have the chance of seeing another version! In winter, the constellation lynx is faintly visible if you live somewhere with low light pollution, and was defined by Johannes Hevelius, an enlightenment era Polish astronomer.

Apart from that, the lynx was also mentioned in the writings of the Roman poet Ovid, where King Lyncus, on threatening to kill the hero Tryptolemus, is turned into a lynx instead.

Distribution of the Lynx

The Eurasian lynx is distributed through the forests of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Siberia, where it lives in close cover near and under the tree canopy in rugged terrain where it camouflages perfectly. It is also adapted to high altitudes, and populations exist in Tibet and the Himalayas. It used to be native to Western Europe too, but has sadly been lost from these regions due to persecution by humans and habitat loss, though there have been some successful reintroductions.

Research in Belarus has found that pair bonds can be strong, keeping pairs together even without kittens, © Domenic Hoffman

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