The Eurasian lynx is the largest of the four lynx species, with a powerful body, long legs, and dense grayish-brown fur speckled with dark spots of varying intensity. It has characteristic black ear tufts, a bobbed tail with a black tip, and a shoulder height of 60-75 cm, adaptations that make it efficient in both hunting and moving through snow.
Habits
It is a solitary and territorial predator, mainly active at dusk and early morning, marking its territory with excrement and scratches; it feeds on small deer (chamois, red deer), rabbits, and rodents, with male hunting territories reaching up to 1,800 km².
Reproduction
Mating occurs between January and April, with females entering estrus once per season (4-7 days); gestation lasts 67-74 days, after which usually 2 cubs are born (rarely up to 3), who stay with their mother for approximately ten months. Sexual maturity is reached at 2-3 years
Distribution
It has a vast Holarctic distribution, with isolated populations in temperate and boreal forests of Central and Eastern Europe, Siberia, and the Caucasus Mountains, extending to the Tibetan Plateau and Himalayas; in Europe, it is found in the Carpathians, Alps, and northern regions, with density varying according to habitat and hunting pressure.
