Why do lynx have long legs? Lynx use their hind legs for jumping and running. The hind legs of a lynx are very powerful and are slightly longer than the front legs. Lynx crouch before they jump or pounce on prey. When lynx crouch, their leg muscles stretch tight, like a rubber band.
When they release the energy stored in their legs, they jump forward. Much the same way, a tightly stretched rubber band will fly to the other side of a room, when you let go of it. A lynx is only about three feet long, yet it can jump about 25 feet! The average person can jump only about three feet. Hearing is another important adaptation for hunting. Cats have twenty muscles to move their ears. Being able to move their ears in nearly a half circle helps them find prey quickly.
Lynx hear higher pitched sounds than people. They are able to hear a mouse squeaking or a rabbit moving its foot. Lynx also use their ears to indicate mood. They lay their ears back when they are angry or feel threatened. Why do lynx have "bristly" tongues? They also help scrape meat off the bones of prey. This meat scraping tool is especially important in winter, when lynx feed on carcasses of larger animals, such as deer and elk, that have died. They are, actually, more like "fingers around the face" because they "feel" objects.
Whiskers help cats avoid obstacles, even in total darkness. Lynx move their whiskers around using the muscles on their face. This allows them to feel objects all around their face.
It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. Things To Do Boating. Cats Adaptations. Maps Publications. Page Image. Page Content. Lynx have multi-colored fur for two reasons: Fur provides insulation in-suhl-ay-shun , so it protects them from extreme heat and cold, and Camouflage cam-oh-flahj helps them sneak up on prey and hide from predators by helping them blend blend in with the rocks, trees, and grasses.
Bobcats are solitary animals. Females choose a secluded den to raise a litter of one to six young kittens, which will remain with their mother for 9 to 12 months. During this time they will learn to hunt before setting out on their own. In some areas, bobcats are still trapped for their soft, spotted fur.
North American populations are believed to be quite large, with perhaps as many as one million cats in the United States alone. All rights reserved. Common Name: Bobcat. Scientific Name: Lynx rufus. Type: Mammals. Diet: Carnivore. Size: Head and body: 26 to 41 inches; tail: 4 to 7 inches. Weight: 11 to 30 pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. Least concern. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Stable.
This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our photo community on Instagram. Dark spots are usually present over much of the body; darker bars occur on the front legs. Dark brown or black streaks mark the head and a fur ruff that extends along each surface of the face.
The backs of the pointed, prominent ears are black with bold white or gray patches. The tips of the ears may bear black tufts that are less than 25 mm 1. The cm 3. The five toes of the front feet only four leave impressions and four toes of the hind feet have sharp, curved, retractile claws. Total length is approximately cm in. Weight varies from 6. Range and Habitat: The range of the bobcat coverssouthernCanada, and most of the U.
The bobcat occurs throughout the Adirondacks and is most common at low to mid-elevations; it is least abundant at elevations above m ft in winter. Merriam reported the bobcat extremely rare in the Adirondacks during the mid to late 's, but this was no longertrue by However, several sources of evidence suggest thisvaluable fur bearer began to decline in numbers following The factors responsible for these changes are unknown, but may relate to the expansion and decrease of the Adirondack white-tailed deer herd.
Interactions with other predators such as the coyote may be important, too. The increasing numbers of bobcats in the Adirondacks may have contributed to the demise of the lynx.
There is some evidence, for example, on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia that the bobcat may displace the lynx where the two species occupy the same habitat. Shrubby fields, wooded farmland, conifer swamps; lowland conifer, mixed, and deciduous forests with clearings and rocky ledges are habitats that bobcat prefers.
Dens, often containing bedding of dried vegetation occur in rock or brush piles, caves, rocky crevices, within or beneath old logs, and occasionally, abandoned buildings. Food and Feeding Behavior: The bobcat is almost exclusively carnivorous, but may scavenge carrion, and rarely, consume fruit. Small to medium-sized mammals and birds provide about percent of the summer diet, but only 25 percent of the winter diet, These animals include snowshoe hares, cottontails, mice, voles, moles, shrews, squirrels, muskrats, beavers, woodchucks, opossums, ruffed grouse, and at times, even porcupines.
White-tailed deer make up the remainder of the diet. Bobcats usually kill winter-weakened fawns, but may take healthy adults and fawns. A single kill may last as long as 12 days, with the bobcat returning to the cached carcass to feed during this time. The impact of bobcats on the Adirondack deer herd is negligible because of the small bobcat population. An Adirondack winter is a severe test for resident bobcats, and those unable to kill deer, especially in mid to late winter, may starve.
Young bobcats, inexperienced in hunting, are the most likely to succumb.
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