What is this animal, this wild cat, known as lynx? The lynx has been a mystery in Colorado for years, leaving tantalizing traces—phantom tracks that disappear with the next snowfall, tufts of hair, perhaps a haunting scream, heard for just a moment. Even the name of the lynx is beguiling, spelled so contrary to convention, lacking vowels, fooling us with its sound. The word comes from Greek, but its meaning is straightforward—wildcat.
The lynx is one of three species of wild felines native to Colorado. The mountain lion is decidedly larger than the lynx and obviously different in appearance. But the bobcat is close in size and appearance, a cousin within the same genus. The bobcat’s Latin name, Lynx rufus, means “red wildcat”. Its spotted coat has a reddish wash, hence the name “Rufus”. The current Latin name for the North American lynx is Lynx canadensis, meaning Canadian wildcat. Another scientific name used by some biologists recognizes the lynx’s status as the wildcat’s wildcat—Lynx lynx.
Both the lynx and the bobcat are about twice the size of a domestic cat, have short, “bobbed” tails, long legs, a ruff of fur around the face, and tufts of fur bristling from the tips of their triangular ears. The lynx’s ear tufts are usually longer and thicker. Despite the similarities of appearance, interbreeding between lynx and bobcats is unknown.
Lynx and bobcats may be similar from ear tuft to bobtail, but down at the toes they differ. The paws of the lynx are exceptionally large (the synonym “platter” comes to mind), and they grow even bigger in winter when the fur grows thickly around the pads and toes. The paws of the lynx have more than twice the surface area of the bobcat’s. The function of such large feet is simple—to act as snowshoes, providing better distribution of the cat’s weight on snow. The lynx’s foot supports only 100 grams per centimeter of snow loading pressure, compared to 300 grams per centimeter for the bobcat’s smaller paw. With these furry snowshoes, a lynx pursuing a similarly-outfitted snowshoe hare moves across the snow after its prey instead of floundering, as would a predator of similar body size but outfitted with small feet.
Like all cats, lynx are consummate meat-eaters, equipped with the tools of a hunter. The cat’s forward-facing eyes aid it in judging its pounce upon prey. Within those large paws are curving, retractable claws, and the sharp teeth are long and pointed, to pierce and hold the flesh of prey.
Biologists, environmentalists, ski area operators, and government agencies have been debating for decades whether lynx still inhabit Colorado. What they do agree on is that Colorado’s high country lynx habitat is a slender finger extending south from the species’ primary range across the boreal forests of Canada. In Canada, where they have been studied and trapped extensively, lynx inhabit coniferous forests with trees of varying ages (in other words, not just old-growth), with relatively open canopies and good undergrowth. It’s no coincidence that this is a favored habitat for snowshoe hares, the lynx’s prey animal of choice. In Colorado, evidence of lynx has been found in dense spruce-fir forest, often with rocky outcroppings, in high, remote regions of the mountains.
While lynx are generally nocturnal and shy of humans, Dr. James Halfpenny, who found rare evidence of lynx around the Vail ski area, reported they visited a garbage dump as well as a construction camp. The trails left by the cats revealed their playful nature as they played with feathers and other objects.
Bobcats have usually been thought of as more adaptable than lynx, more generalist in their lifestyle. Bobcats can be found in every habitat in the state except open grasslands and urban areas, even moving into suburbs and around farms where there is suitable habitat. They prefer piñon-juniper woodlands and low-elevation mountain forests. Bobcats hunt a variety of small prey, including mice, ground and tree squirrels, rabbits and birds, and even occasionally kill deer. Lynx were thought to be specialists in their habitat needs, sticking to high mountain forests where they dined almost exclusively on snowshoe hares. Migration into a variety of habitats by the lynx released in Colorado in 1999, however, is causing biologists to reconsider this preconceived notion. The animals are also eating a wider menu of prey. CDOW researchers must wait until the released lynx settle down and select habitats to make any conclusions.
What is a lynx? As the lynx adapts to life in Colorado, in terrain unlike the forests of Canada and Alaska, it may turn out to be an animal very different from the one it has long been thought to be.
Next: Lynx Make Trax in Colorado, Part One
(The information contained in this issue of Colorado's Wildlife Company was accurate at the time of original publication. Situations and circumstances described, staff positions, contact information, and dates of some events may have changed in the interim. Present knowledge and understanding of biological and behavioral facts and information may also be different, now, than presented here.)