Montana Field Guide

Canada Lynx - Lynx canadensis

The Canada lynx is a medium-sized cat (about 10 kilograms for males and 8 kilograms for females) with silver-gray to grayish-brown upperparts and a white belly and throat. Lynx have long legs and a relatively short, compact body. The total length averages approximately 92.5 centimeters for males and 89.5 centimeters for females (Foresman 2001). A facial ruff surrounds the face except directly beneath the snout. The facial ruff is longest on either side of the snout and has black markings on these longest hairs. The ears are 70 to 80 millimeters long and have a long, 30 millimeters black tuft at the end. The backs of the ears are darker than the rest of the body and have a central white spot. The feet are large and round (10 x 10 centimeters) and heavily furred (Foresman 2001). The tail is short and the tip is entirely black.

Canada lynx are most similar to bobcats, but differ in many respects. At a distance, lynx appear leggier and are grayer in color, with less distinctive spotting (Foresman 2001). Lynx have much larger feet and longer ear tufts. In addition, the entire tail tip is black in Canada lynx whereas in bobcats the underside of the tail tip is white (Foresman 2001) and the back of the hind legs is black on bobcats and a light beige color on lynx. Immature mountain lions may be superficially similar to lynx but have a much longer tail and body.

Montana Range

Canada lynx are non-migratory, but movements of 90 to 125 miles have been recorded between Montana and Canada (Hash 1990). In other areas, long distance dispersal has been reported to range from 103 to 616 kilometers (Saunders 1963, Nellis and Wetmore 1969, Brainerd 1985, Ward 1985, Brittell et al. 1989).

Canada lynx west of the Continental Divide generally occur in subalpine forests between 1,220 and 2,150 meters in stands composed of pure lodgepole pine but also mixed stands of subalpine fir, lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, grand fir, western larch and hardwoods (J. Squires pers. comm. 1999 in Ruediger et al. 2000). In extreme northwestern Montana, primary vegetation may include cedar-hemlock habitat types (Ruediger et al. 2000). East of the Continental Divide the subalpine forests inhabited by lynx occur at higher elevations (1,650 to 2,400 meters) and are composed mostly of subalpine fir. Secondary habitat is intermixed Englemann spruce and Douglas-fir habitat types where lodgepole pine is a major seral species (Ruediger et al. 2000). Throughout their range, shrub-steppe habitats may provide important linkage habitat between the primary habitat types described above (Reudiger et al. 2000). Typical snow conditions are important factors for lynx, with lynx occurring primarily in habitats that also receive relatively uniform and moderately deep snowfall amounts (total annual snowfall of 100 to 127 centimeters) (Kelsall et al. 1977). Within these habitat types, disturbances that create early successional stages such as fire, insect infestations, and timber harvest, provide foraging habitat for lynx by creating forage and cover for snowshoe hares, although older forests also provide habitats for snowshoe hares and lynx for longer periods of time than disturbance-created habitats (Ruediger et al. 2000).

Canada lynx avoid large openings but often hunt along edges in areas of dense cover (Ruediger et al. 2000). When inactive or birthing, they occupy dens typically in hollow trees, under stumps, or in thick brush. Den sites tend to be in mature or old-growth stands with a high density of logs (Koehler 1990, Koehler and Brittell 1990). These habitats must be near or adjacent to foraging habitat because the hunting range of the female is reduced during this time (Ruediger et al. 2000).

In the South Fork Flathead, lynx were mostly located in fire-created, densely stocked young stands of lodgepole pine where snowshoe hares were most abundant. No locations in open or semi-open areas were observed (Koehler at al. 1979). In the Garnet Range, most were found in subalpine fir forest (Smith 1984). Denning sites are found in mature and old-growth lodgepole pine, spruce, and subalpine fir forests with a high density of logs (Koehler 1990, Koehler and Brittell 1990). Denning stands need not be large (1 to 3 hectares) but several stands should be interconnected (Koehler and Brittell 1990). Lynx require cover for stalking and security, and usually do not cross openings wider than 100 meters (Koehler and Brittell 1990).

The primary winter food for lynx throughout their range is the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), comprising 35 to 97% of their diet (Koehler and Aubry 1994). Red squirrels are also an important prey item, particularly when snowshoe hare populations are reduced (Ruediger et al. 2000). Summer diets are not as well known but are probably more varied (Mowat et al. 2000). Lynx in Montana probably prey on a wider variety of species throughout the year because of generally lower snowshoe hare densities and available alternate prey (Ruediger et al. 2000). Other known prey items include grouse, flying squirrels, ground squirrels, porcupines, beavers, mice, voles, shrews and occasionally ungulates as prey or carrion (Reudiger et al. 2000).

Canada lynx populations are tied to snowshoe hare populations and cycle with them. Snowshoe hare populations were not thought to cycle in Montana, but recent research suggests that southern hare populations do cycle, but not at the amplitude of northern populations (Hodges 2000). Southern hare populations also exist at lower densities than northern populations (Koehler and Aubry 1994). Montana lynx ecology is subsequently different than those populations further north with average home ranges nearly twice the size of those found in the north (Aubrey et al. 2000). Home ranges are quite variable with increasing home range sizes during periods of low hare populations (Ruediger et al. 2000). Home ranges of males are larger than that of females. Long distance dispersal movements of up to several hundred kilometers have been recorded and dispersal is common and thought to be essential for population regulation (Schwartz et. al. 2002). Population density usually is less than 10 (locally up to 20) per 100 square kilometers, depending on prey availability. Mean densities range between 2 and 9 per 100 square kilometers (McCord and Cardoza 1982).

Home range sizes in North America are large, varying from 10 to 243 square kilometers (McCord and Cardoza 1982); typical home ranges are 16 to 20 square kilometers (Quinn and Parker 1987, Butts 1992). Home range sizes vary with sex, age, population density, prey density, and method of survey and calculation (McCord and Cardoza 1982, Ward and Krebs 1985, Quinn and Parker 1987, Hatler 1988). Some researchers have reported lynx maintain single sex territories (especially males) with male territories overlapping female territories (Mech 1980, Stephenson 1986, Koehler 1987). However, others found substantial overlap between territories of both the same and opposite sexed animals (Nellis et al. 1972, Brand et al. 1976, Carbyn and Patriquin 1983, Ward and Krebs 1985). Where lynx and bobcat are sympatric, home ranges overlap; however bobcats are at lower elevation in winter (Smith 1984).

Canada lynx breed through March and April. Gestation lasts 62 to 74 days with litter sizes averaging 3 or 4. Males do not help rear the young. Adult females produce one litter every 1 to 2 years and the young stay with their mother until next mating season or longer. Some females give birth as yearlings, particularly during years with high snowshoe hare populations, but their pregnancy rate is lower than that of older females (Brainerd 1985). Prey scarcity suppresses breeding and may result in mortality of nearly all young (Brand and Keith 1979). In Alberta, reproduction fell 38% (ovulation rates, pregnancy rates and litter size) and mortality of kittens reached 95% during cyclic hare population lows (Brand and Keith 1979).

Canada lynx are classified as a furbearer in Montana but the trapping season is currently closed in Montana. Any lynx accidentally trapped must be released uninjured and reported to designated Fish, Wildlife and Parks employees within the trapping district within five days. Any lynx trapped that cannot be released unharmed must be reported to Fish, Wildlife and Parks for assistance to determine disposition and/or collection of the animal. Lynx were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in the contiguous United States in 2000 because of the inadequacy of guidance for conservation of lynx in the National Forest Land and Resource Management Plans and Bureau of Land Management Land Use Plans (Reudiger et al. 2000). Subsequently, the Canada Lynx Conservation Assessment and Strategy (Reudiger et al. 2000) was produced to provide guidance for conservation measures on federally managed lands to ensure that lynx populations were not jeopardized by management of critical habitat. Please consult the plan for details of this strategy.