Eurasian Lynx

Eurasian Lynx Illustration

EURASIAN LYNX (Lynx lynx)

Eurasian lynx are the largest lynx species, weighing up to seventy pounds. They range from northern and central Europe to eastern Asia. Unlike other lynx species, they generally hunt prey larger than themselves. Across their range, they will predate ungulates as large as moose. In our tour location in Estonia, these wild cats primarily hunt roe deer.

Difficulty: Difficult

our Eurasian Lynx tour

Eurasian Lynx Tour Statistics

1 EURASIAN
LYNX TOUR RUN

5 AVG NUMBER OF
CATS SEEN PER TOUR

8 MINUTES ON AVG
WITH EACH CAT

Eurasian Lynx Description

The Eurasian lynx is a medium sized cat, with the characteristic short lynx tail and tasseled ears. It is the tallest of all the lynx species, standing up to 75 cm (30 in) at the shoulders, due mainly to its long legs. Males weigh up to 31kg (70 lbs), weighing on average 25% more than females. There is significant variation in fur coloration and spotting. In Estonia, where we run our Eurasian Lynx photo tour, the individuals are generally grey in coloration with minimal spotting. In other parts of their range, the cats can be brown, even yellowish in coloration, and can have spotting more reminiscent of a leopard's rosettes. The tail is completely black at its end.

A female lynx in Estonia. This individual shows the typical non-spotted fur pattern we see during our tours.

Eurasian Lynx Distribution and Habitat

Eurasian lynx are widely, but unevenly distributed. They are found from western Europe to the Russian far east, and from northern Scandinavia to southern China. Due to local extirpation, these cats are often recognized as having ten different populations, including the Alpine, Balkan, Baltic, Bohemian-Bavarian, Carpathian, Dinaric, Jura, Karelian, Scandinavian, and Vosges Palatinian subpopulations. None of these populations are estimated to have more than 3,000 adult individuals. They are found across a variety of habitats, but are most commonly associated with forested habitats, including boreal and temperate forests. In certain parts of their range, they can be found in rocky steppe and rocky mountainous areas. In Estonia for our tour, they occupy the boreal forests found in the Baltics, where there are sufficient roe deer for them to predate and enough cover for them to hide and give birth. Despite running this tour in winter, when there is less foliage, the lynx are still extremely well camouflaged and hard to find.

Boreal forests along the Baltic Sea in Estonia, this is perfect lynx habitat with prey availability and shelter. 

Eurasian Lynx Feeding Biology

Eurasian lynx are the only lynx species that primarily predate animals larger than themselves. In fact, on average their prey is 3-4 larger than themselves. They primarily predate medium to large ungulate species, like roe deer, chamois, musk deer, and red deer. When larger ungulate species are sparse, lynx will switch to smaller prey, like hares, marmots, beavers, and even smaller species like pika. In Estonia, a lynx predates about one roe deer a week, feeding on the kill for up to four days. To catch their prey, like most cats, they utilize a stalk and ambush strategy, sneaking up on their prey in slow and deliberate movements, until within just a few meters of their prey, after which they pounce. We watched one female lynx slowly cross a wide open field with no cover for over one hundred yards to stalk a mountain hare. They are primarily active during dawn, dusk, and the night.

These lynx primarily feed on prey larger than themselves, in the form of ungulates. In Estonia, they primarily hunt roe deer at dawn, dusk, and during the night.

Eurasian Lynx Social Organization

Eurasian lynx are solitary and territorial. Male territories are significantly larger than those of females and try to encompass as many female territories as possible, though generally between one and two females. Female territories are exclusive of each other. Home ranges are defined through scent marking, including defecation, urination, and scrap marking. We organize our photo tour during their mating season, during which we can sometimes hear their loud, deep, mating calls. Like other small cats, they are able to meow, hiss, purr, growl, and chatter. 

Lynx males, like this one, have much larger home ranges than females, up to 450 square kilometers. 

Eurasian Lynx Reproduction

The Eurasian lynx mating season is from February through April, which is why we run our tours in March (the cats tend to move more frequently during this time). Females are able to mate at two years of age, males at three years of age. Gestation lasts around 70 days, when two, sometimes three kittens are born. Their dens are thickets, often due to fallen logs. They start to leave the den at six to seven weeks old, at which point they are able to feed on meat. Most kittens are not weaned until around five to six months old. At ten months, they will disperse from their mother's territory. Survival rates during the first and second year are around 50% each. These lynx can live up to seventeen years in the wild.

Lynx mother with her almost fully grown kitten in Estonia. In just a few months, this kitten will leave its mom to find its own territory.

our Eurasian Lynx tour