Canada Lynx: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Small Wild Cats · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. A Canada lynx's furry paws spread as wide as 10 cm and hold almost twice the weight of a bobcat's before sinking.
2. Canada lynxes are good swimmers. One account records one swimming 3.2 km across the Yukon River.
3. Canada lynxes are great climbers and escape danger high up in trees, but they only ever hunt on the ground.
4. A lynx prowls the trails snowshoe hares use, or lies still in an "ambush bed" beside them, then pounces.
5. Lynx kittens are born with greyish buff fur and black markings. They are blind for their first fourteen days.

The quiz

1. How wide can a Canada lynx's paws spread?

• 2 cm
• 5 cm
• 10 cm (correct)
• 30 cm

The paws can spread as wide as 10 cm to move easily on soft snow.

2. What does one account record a Canada lynx doing in the Yukon River?

• Swimming 3.2 km across it (correct)
• Hunting fish
• Crossing it on ice
• Diving to the bottom

One account records a lynx swimming 3.2 km across the Yukon River.

3. Where does a Canada lynx hunt?

• High in trees
• On frozen lakes
• Underwater
• Only on the ground (correct)

Lynxes escape danger in trees, but hunt only on the ground.

4. What do lynxes wait in on trails that snowshoe hares use?

• Tree holes
• Ambush beds (correct)
• Dens
• Rivers

Lynxes prowl hare trails or lie still in ambush beds, then pounce.

5. For how long are lynx kittens blind after birth?

• Their first day
• Their first week
• Their first fourteen days (correct)
• Their first year

Kittens are blind for their first fourteen days.

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