The lynx is a feline, cat-like, and much larger than a cat. It is a medium-sized beast of prey.
The four existing species of lynx are classified as a genus of feline in traditional taxonomy. According to the results of molecular biology studies, they constitute one of the eight evolutionary lineages of feline, namely Lynx lineages.
The four remaining species are the Eurasian lynx, the Canadian lynx, the Iberian lynx, and the bobtail cat.
The four species of lynx showed alternative distribution. The bobtailed cat is distributed in the southern part of North America, the Canadian lynx is distributed in the northern part of North America, the Eurasian lynx is distributed throughout the northern part of Eurasia, and the Iberian lynx currently only lives in the corner of the Iberian Peninsula, and the two species overlap only in the border area of the United States and Canada.
Its distribution across Eurasia and North America also shows that the lynx, like many other cats, has undergone intercontinental migration during its evolution.
The common ancestor of the lynx genus emerged 7.2 million years ago in North America, giving rise first to bobtail cats and then to the Canada lynx. The other may have migrated back to Eurasia via the Bering Strait and split into the Eurasian and Iberian lynx.
Lynx is a cold-loving animal, and its habitat is extremely diverse, ranging from the subrigid coniferous forest, the mixed coniferous forest in the cold temperate zone to alpine meadow, alpine grassland, alpine shrub grassland, alpine desert, and semi-desert, and other environments. Their habitat ranges from plains hundreds of meters above sea level to plateaus of about 5,000 meters.
Live in forest areas, dense forests and rocks are more common. They like to live alone, are good at climbing and swimming, have strong hunger tolerance, can lie in a place for several days, are not afraid of the cold, eat mice, and rabbits, but also hunt boar and deer for food. Nests are mostly built in rock cracks or holes in trees. Two to four offspring per litter.
The tip of the two upright ears grew a long dark tuft of hair standing up, up to 4-5 centimeters long, among which there were a few white hairs, like the feathers on the helmet of a military commander in the drama, adding a bit of majestic momentum.
The ear shell and the pen hair can move towards the direction of the sound source at any time and have the effect of collecting sound waves. If the tufts are lost, their hearing will be affected.
The lynx is cunning and cautious, and when in danger it will quickly escape into trees to hide, and sometimes lie down on the ground and pretend to be dead, to avoid enemy attacks and damage.
In nature, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, bears, and other large beasts are the natural enemies of lynxes, if encountered by wolves, will be closely chased, surrounded, and killed, and generally difficult to escape.
There are probably around 70,000 lynx left in the wild and the population is declining. The risk factor is that lynx skin is one of the important traditional fur resources and export species.
Until the 1970s, hunters were free to kill as many as they wanted, and more than 1,000 lynx were hunted each year on the Tibetan Plateau alone.
The immediate reason for this low population is the impact of human activities, including habitat destruction due to indiscriminate killing and extensive forest development, as well as a lack of food sources for the lynx.