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HomeProtecting the ForestHear and see like a lynx? 10 facts

Hear and see like a lynx? 10 facts

He is there, even if we hardly ever see him. The lynx lives very quietly in the depths of the forests and it is very rare for people to see them. All the more exciting to find out more about these cats. 10 facts about the lynx that you may not have known:

1) Like to be alone

Wolves spend almost their entire lives in a family group. The lynx prefers to stay alone. The females raise their young, but as soon as they are old enough, they leave their mother in search of their own territory. Males and females only meet during the mating season.

2) The largest cat of prey

The Eurasian lynx is the largest representative of its genus and therefore the largest feline in Central Europe. A lynx has a shoulder height of up to 70 centimeters and a body length of up to 120 centimeters about the size of a German Shepherd.

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3) Very individual, the fur

Each lynx has a different fur pattern. Similar to the human fingerprint, lynxes can be individually identified using this pattern. By the way, this also works with tigers.

4) Pretty tight

The lynx's fur consists of up to 9,000 hairs per square centimeter. In comparison, we humans are downright bald: There are only about 200 hairs per square centimeter on our head. The dense coat of hair insulates the lynx ideally against cold and moisture. Which you can't necessarily say about our hair.

Lynx in winter camera trap
With fur like this, the lynx doesn't have to fear the winter © Julius Kramer / focusednatur.de

5) Eyes like a lynx

Eyes like a lynx, it's not for nothing that this saying exists. In fact, lynxes see very, very well. For example, a mouse from 75 meters away. We humans, on the other hand, can just spot a mouse 50 meters away in good light. Lynx eyes are six times more sensitive to light than our eyesamong other things because there are more rod cells in their retina that function even in low light. This helps the lynx to orientate itself just as well at night as during the day. There can be no question of night blindness here.

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6) Ears like a lynx

Hearing like a lynx and a second sense have also achieved proverbial honors. The lynx can still perceive sounds in the range between 65 and 70 kilohertz, while we humans can no longer hear anything at 16 to 20 kilohertz. In fact, nothing escapes the lynx's hearing, not a mouse and of course not a hiker either.

7) The famous brush ear and the wind

Side whiskers, stubby tails and of course the famous brush ear are typical of lynxes. It is not yet clear why they have them. It is believed that the beautiful brush ears help the lynx determine the direction of the wind. This could help him hunt. As a lurking and stalking hunter, the lynx often waits for hours for its prey, attacks with a big jump and kills it with a bite to the throat.

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8) A home as big as Bremen

A lynx's territory covers 50 – 400 square kilometers, i.e. between 5,000 and 40,000 hectares. This is almost the size of the city state of Bremen. The size of the territory and density of the lynx population are closely related to the available prey available. The lynx needs these large areas in order to be able to successfully catch prey on a regular basis. The territories of male lynxes are significantly larger than those of females.

9) What the lynx eats

Maybe you're also wondering how much a lynx actually eats per day? The daily nutritional requirement of lynxes is between 1.1 and 2.7 kilograms of meat. If lynxes have killed a larger prey, they often feed on it for several days. The lynx can then starve for a few days. On average, a lynx kills around 50 deer per year.

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10) They're back

In the first half of the last century, there were just 700 lynxes living in Europe. There are now around 9,000 again. The populations in the Bavarian Forest, Palatinate Forest and the Harz Mountains arose through active reintroduction and did not occur through independent migration into the original distribution areas, as was the case with wolves, for example.

Lynxes still threatened in Germany

Although lynxes are now strictly protected and have a year-round closed season in Germany, lynxes are still illegally shot or poisoned. Or they get run over. In Germany, seven lynxes were proven to have fallen victim to illegal acts between 2000 and 2017. However, the number of unreported cases can be significantly higher.

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And have you also come across the lynx? More information about the lynx in Germany, how it develops WWF to protect lynxes and how you can get involved yourself can be found here.

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