The Canada lynx is a large yellowish-brown cat with dark spots. These forest-dwelling cats have short tails and their ears are tipped with tufts of long, black hairs. Because they spend significant time hunting rabbits in snow, their paws are quite large and furry, helping them to distribute their weight and allowing them to move easily through deep snow.    

Habitat: Lynx live in forested areas, mostly at high elevation subalpine fir, spruce, and lodgepole pine forests. They make their homes, called “dens” out of fallen logs, stumps, clumps of timber, or similar tangles of roots and branches. 

Food: Lynx love to eat snowshoe hares, but they also eat squirrels and other small mammals and birds. They are nocturnal, meaning they hunt at night for their prey.  

Facts: Lynx have been known to sit in one spot for hours, waiting to pounce on a snowshoe hare or other small animal that may pass nearby.    They can also travel a distance of over five miles in just one day.

Canada lynx kits

Canada lynx kit