Lynx Feeding

Lynx Eating Habits

During the day the Lynx is resting and trying to stay well hidden from predators. When the sun goes down though that is when they get moving and into action. The Lynx is a night time hunter. They have great vision and an exceptional hearing so they have no trouble at all finding their prey.

The Lynx has very sharp teeth and they use them to pierce deep into the neck of their prey. They often use the element of surprise to tackle their prey. This includes pouncing on them from rocks or ledges that are above the typical ground areas. This gives them a great view too for surveying potential prey that is in the area. They may spring out from the forest areas or the tall grasses too when prey is eating or when they are drinking water and not paying attention.

There are plenty of types of food that they will consume. What they have access though often depends on the area where they happen to live. Some of these animals include deer, rabbits, marmots, fox, birds, mice, squirrels and reptiles. They have a diet that often varies at different times of the year too. For example the water may be frozen in the winter so obtaining fish to eat is almost impossible.

Studies show that the males seem to take on the larger sources of food. The females tend to consumer smaller types of prey. However, they are opportunistic so they won’t pass up meals when they are able to find them. There are many times though when they have more of a chance of finding small prey to consume than the larger animals.

The snowshoe hare makes up most of their diet. The fact that these animals reproduce quickly often means that they are in high supply for the Lynx. However, when the natural habitat is removed by humans it can upset that balance of the hare being readily available to them. When the number of the hares drops dramatically so does the number of Lynx in any given location.

They are amazing when it comes to swimming and are able to catch fish by doing so. However, most of the time when you see them in the water they will be looking for food.

When there is a shortage of food the Lynx may have to travel many miles every single night to find food. Studies show that in the winter months it can be more difficult for them to find food. The fact that they can hear movements and see for long distances does give them a good chance of finding food sources.

The Lynx will sometimes consume left overs from other hunters if they absolutely have to. They are very picky about it though and won’t consume it if it has rotted. They may pick at the remains to get just enough to hold them over until they can complete their own hunt.

A key problem regarding the survival of the Lynx comes with finding enough food to survive upon. Humans continue to move closer to the natural habitat of these animals. As a result they have less room to go find their prey. The addition of humans in these areas also clears out the other animals so the availability of food in the room that the Lynx does have to explore is very small.