Individuals, particularly of the same sex, tend to avoid each other, forming 'intrasexual' territories. The lynx waits for the hare on specific trails or in 'ambush beds', then pounces on it and kills it by a bite on its head, throat or the nape of its neck. The Canada lynx hunts mainly around twilight, or at night, when snowshoe hares tend to be active. The Canada lynx population increases with an increasing hare population if the hare population decreases in a given area, it moves to areas with more hares and has fewer offspring. This leads to a prey-predator cycle, as Canada lynxes respond to the cyclic rises and falls in snowshoe hare populations over the years in Alaska and central Canada. Three subspecies have been proposed, but their validity is doubted it is mostly considered a monotypic species.Ī specialist predator, the Canada lynx depends heavily on the snowshoe hare ( Lepus americanus) for food. The Canada lynx was first described by Robert Kerr in 1792. The lynx is a good swimmer and an agile climber. The Canada lynx stands 48–56 cm (19–22 in) tall at the shoulder and weighs between 5 and 17 kg (11 and 37 lb). Its hindlimbs are longer than the forelimbs, so its back slopes downward to the front. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears with black tufts at the tips, and broad, snowshoe-like paws. The Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis), or Canadian lynx, is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States.

Lynx black and white skull sketch