Wildlifeof Nepal
Lynx
Cats
Photo: (c) Julia Moning, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Lynx lynx
Basic stats
Diet
Hares, pikas, voles, marmots and domestic goats recorded in Nepal; small to medium hoofed animals elsewhere
Habitat
Temperate and boreal forest up to 5,500m
Range
Northern, Central and Eastern Europe through Central Asia and Siberia to the Tibetan Plateau and Himalayas
Gestation period
67–74 days
Size
Body 73–106cm; tail 11–24.5cm; shoulder 55–75cm
The Eurasian lynx is the largest of the four lynx species. It has a relatively short coat, reddish or brown and marked with black spots whose number and pattern vary widely. The fur is thicker and silver-grey to greyish brown in winter. Long legs and large, furred, webbed paws act like snowshoes (Wikipedia, general species account).
In Nepal a lynx was sighted in the western Dhaulagiri massif in 1975. Scat collected in Dolpa District held the remains of woolly hare, pika, mountain voles, Himalayan marmot and domestic goat. Across its range it follows prey down to lowlands in winter to avoid deep snow, and it is threatened by habitat loss, poaching and loss of prey. Nationally Vulnerable (Nepal National Red List 2011).
Quick answers
- What does the Lynx eat?
- Hares, pikas, voles, marmots and domestic goats recorded in Nepal; small to medium hoofed animals elsewhere
- What habitat does the Lynx live in?
- Temperate and boreal forest up to 5,500m
- Where is the Lynx found?
- Northern, Central and Eastern Europe through Central Asia and Siberia to the Tibetan Plateau and Himalayas
- How long is the gestation period of the Lynx?
- 67–74 days
- How big is the Lynx?
- Body 73–106cm; tail 11–24.5cm; shoulder 55–75cm