Lynx (Lynx Canadensis) photograph taken between July 28, 2023 - August 4, 2023 by BetsyBear (p 08/08/23 23:22). Please request BetsyBear's permission PRIOR to using her photographs!
Lynx (Lynx Canadensis)[]
The above photograph of the Lynx (Lynx Canadensis) courtesy of BetsyBear taken between July 28, 2023 - August 4, 2023 (p 08/08/23 23:22). The Lynx (Lynx Canadensis) close-up of face photograph that appears below to the right was taken between July 28, 2023 - August 4, 2023 by BetsyBear (p 08/08/23 23:30). Please request BetsyBear's permission PRIOR to using her photographs!
The following species profile information obtained from Alaska Department of Fish and Game, where additional information can also be obtained. The ADF&G Lynx Wildlife Notebook Series also provides additional information.
Lynx (Lynx Canadensis) close-up of face photograph taken between July 28, 2023 - August 4, 2023 by BetsyBear (p 08/08/23 23:30). Please request BetsyBear's permission PRIOR to using her photographs!
General Description:[]
The lynx is a large, short-tailed cat, similar to the bobcat, but distinguished by its long legs, furry feet, the long tufts on the tip of each ear, and a black-tipped tail. The large broad feet function as snowshoes to aid the lynx in winter hunting and traveling. The dense soft fur is buffy grey with indistinct spotting. Most adults weigh from 18 to 30 pounds (8.2–13.6 kg). Male lynx are generally larger than females and occasionally weigh 40 pounds (18.2 kg) or more.
Life History:[]
Growth & Reproduction:[]
Mating occurs in March and early April and kittens are born about 63 days later under a natural shelter such as a spruce felled by wind, a rock ledge, or a log jam. Lynx kittens resemble domestic cats at birth and are buff colored with longitudinal streaking on their backs. Their eyes open about 1 month of age, and they are weaned when 2–3 months old. Most litters include two to four kittens, but sometimes as many as six are born and survive.
The production and survival of lynx kittens is strongly influenced by cyclic changes in snowshoe hare and other small game populations. When prey are abundant, a high percentage of 1-year old or older female lynx produce kittens, most of which survive. When prey is scarce, very few yearlings breed, the number of breeding adults declines, and very few kittens survive until winter.
Kittens remain with their mother until late winter and acquire the hunting skills and knowledge necessary for their survival. During the following breeding season, family units begin to break up.
Behavior:[]
Lynx normally travel one to five miles per day within home ranges ranging from five to more than 100 square miles. The largest ranges occur when prey are scarce. Lynx travel and hunt at a walk most of the time and capture their prey with short bursts of speed. They often ambush hares and other small prey while bedded down near small game trails. Lynx are adept at climbing trees but hunt mainly on the ground, sometimes using trees as a refuge from larger predators such as wolves.
Lynx are curious animals and are fairly easy to trap using lures made from beaver castor, catnip, or other scents. Visual attractors such as bird wings or aluminum foil are often used to take advantage of the lynx's visual acuity.
Feeding Ecology:[]
The primary prey of lynx in most areas is the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), which undergoes an 8–11 year cycle of abundance. This cycle appears to be caused by the interaction of hares with their food and predators. Lynx numbers fluctuate with those of hares and other small game, but lag one or two years behind. When a hare population crashes, lynx numbers soon decline because of the small number of kittens reaching adulthood and the movement of some lynx out of the area. In recent studies of radio-collared lynx in Canada, Minnesota, and Alaska, movements of from 100 to 400 miles or more have been documented as lynx left areas where hares had become scarce. For example, a radio-collared lynx from the southern Yukon traveled over 400 miles to Chalkyitsik, Alaska, on the Yukon Flats.
Although snowshoe hares are an important prey for lynx, when they are scarce lynx use other food sources more extensively, and other small prey such as grouse, ptarmigan, squirrels, and microtine rodents are regularly taken. Lynx are also known to prey on caribou, Dall sheep, and foxes, especially during periods of snowshoe hare scarcity.
Range & Habitat:[]
Lynx inhabit much of Alaska's forested terrain and use a variety of habitats, including spruce and hardwood forests, and both subalpine and successional communities. The best lynx habitat in Alaska occurs where fires or other factors create and maintain a mixture of vegetation types with an abundance of early successional growth. This provides the best habitat for snowshoe hares and other small prey of lynx.
Lynx are not present in southern Southeast Alaska, or on the major islands of Southeast (Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof), and are considered scarce in northern Southeast Alaska. This mirrors the presence of hares
Fast Facts:[]
Size:[]
Most adults weigh from 18 to 30 pounds
Diet:[]
Hares are the preferred food
Reproduction:[]
Two to four kittens (Note: KNP&P Ranger Carolyn Rohdenburg says between one and six kittens, see live chat below)
Lynx Teeth:[]
While exploring the ADF&G website for additional educational information about lynx, don't miss this photograph of their teeth!
Canada lynx have 28 razor sharp teeth and the canines are longer and even sharper than the others. Lynx use their canines to quickly grab, puncture, and kill their prey.
Researchers check the condition of the teeth; this is a good indicator of the age and health of the animal.
Lynx Claws:[]
For a lynx, the only thing sharper than their teeth are their needle like claws.
Canadian Lynx (Lynx Canadensis) & Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americanus) Live Chat:[]
Ranger Sarah Gage and Ranger Carolyn Rohdenburg's August 2021 live chat about Katmai's Canadian lynx and snowshoe hares (aka varying hare).
Katmai's Lynx and Showshoe Hares - Live Chat
Explore.org video
Canadian Lynx Observed on the Explore Bearcams:[]
2023 Season:[]
2023 has been a booming summer for snowshoe hare at Brooks Camp. Could this play a role in the lynx being observed on the Explore.org live cams during the 2023 season?
June 2023:[]
2023.06.23: On June 23, 2023 at approximately 18:00 AKDT (6 PM) a lynx was observed on the bank of the riffles from the Riffles live cam. SteveCa created this gif of the lynx (p 18:23). Rae_Rae created this gif of the lynx from the Riffles cam (p 06/24/2023 04:35). LunaCre created these gifs (#1 & #2) of the lynx on the bank of the riffles( p 06/24/23 12:57). Scooch (Mister) created this gif of the lynx, however the file is too large to upload to the wiki, please view Scooch's gif here. Scooch (Mister) went back and recorded gifs at one quarter and one half speed to get a better look at his face, long whiskers, characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of the ears, short fluffy tail, large paws and strong build, please click here to view the 1st one and here to view the 2nd one (p 06/24/23 17:15). Scooch (Mister) also created these slow-mo gifs (#1 & #2) that were able to be uploaded to the wiki (p 17:46).:
Cloud captured this video of the lynx observed on June 23, 2023:
Lynx visits the Riffles Bank Explore.org June 23, 2023
video by Cloud
The lynx on the bank of the riffles video by mckate:
23 Jun 2023- A Lynx Walks the Riffles Bank (explore.org)
video by mckate
Twelve22 captured this video of the lynx on the bank of the riffles on June 23, 2023.:
A Lynx Makes an Appearance on the Riffles Cam - June 23, 2023 (explore.org)
video by twelve22
2023.06.24: Cruiser created this gif of the lynx observed from the River Watch cam on June 24, 2023 (p 06:14). Blair-55 created this gif (p 06:47). Oh_Arana created this gif (p 17:20).:
Flyer 4477 (aka SteveCa) captured this video of the lynx from the River Watch live cam.:
2023-06-24..A Lynx is Spotted on the Explore Cam..Courtesy of Explore.org
video by Flyer 4477 (aka SteveCa)
Cruiser also captured this video of the lynx from the River Watch live cam:
Lynx returns 24Jun23 on River Watch explore.org
video by Cruiser
2023 Booming Summer for Snowshoe Hare at Brooks Camp:[]
It's a booming summer for hare in Brooks Camp!
2023.05.26: Ranger Naomi Boak captured this May 2023 NPS photograph of a snowshoe hare. She has seen more snowshoe hare than she has ever seen before at Brooks Camp. (p 05/28/2023 09:00):
2023.06.13: They were still shedding out their white winter fur when employees arrived in May and now they are completely in their summer brown phase. Brooks Lodge shared this June 13, 2023 photograph by Kara Stenberg of a snowshoe hare in their June 22, 2023 09:46 Facebook post.:
Please request Kara Stenberg's permission prior to using her photographs!
Lynx Observed at Brooks Camp:[]
Katmai National Park Facebook Photo of a Canadian Lynx, June 14, 2019[]
On Friday June 14, 2019 Katmai National Park Facebook posted a lynx photo by Ranger M. Saxton . "Unlike many other wild cats, lynx can meow, purr, and hiss like a housecat. Their response to red laser pointers is unknown. NPS Photo / M. Saxton."
BetsyBear's July 28, 2023 - August 4, 2023 Trip to Brooks Camp:[]
BetsyBear was super sad when she missed the lynx on the live cam earlier this season and her goals this year were to see a wolf with a stretch goal of catching a glimpse of a lynx. While she didn't get to see a wolf (but saw two adorable porcupines), this beautiful lynx posed for photos for several minutes right next to the trail before sauntering across the road into the tall grass. BetsyBear shared her amazing photographs of the lynx she observed: #1 (p 08/08/23 23:22) & #2 (p 08/08/23 23:30).
Please request BetsyBear's permission PRIOR to using her photographs!
Lynx Do Swim:[]
Lynx Research Reveals Lynx Do Swim:[]
Information about lynx swimming can be found on the ADF&G website at this link: Wandering Lynx, Lynx Research in Alaska & Canada by Riley Woodford
"They were surprised to learn that several of the animals repeatedly swam across the Tanana River in October and November, when it was unfrozen or partially frozen. The Tanana is a large, swift, glacial river; it is the largest tributary of the Yukon River and more than a mile wide in places, although there are numerous braids and sandbars. Air temperature was below freezing. One male crossed the main channel of the river six times in November. Another male made 14 crossings of the Tanana between September and November, and swam across sloughs and channels of the river (15 to 50 meters wide) an additional 20 times. A female made 11 crossings and swam across smaller braids, channels and sloughs 40 times.
“Some crossings were made in the dark at night,” he said. “There would have been ice in the river, and it was 10 below zero some of those times.”
Lynx Swimming Across the Naknek:[]
@drew_mcdougall and @harding_brown captured a video of a lynx swimming across the Naknek in early June 2023 which was shared by alaska_daily in their June 5, 2023 Instagram post. No worries, the lynx figured out the dock was too slippery, and swam the rest of the way to the shore in a video posted to Instagram on June 6, 2023.
A special thank you to BetsyBear for allowing us to use her 2023 photographs of the lynx she observed while visiting Brooks Camp! Your contributions complete the page Betsy!