Canada Lynx 



687 



gone. On this occasion I saw nothing of a second old one, 

 or indeed of any other young ones, for that matter ; but they 

 may have been there, as the undergrowth was very thick. 

 The date was September 8. 



The family continues together all autumn. As proof of 

 this, Linklater tells me that in October, 1904, he saw 4 Lynxes 

 together hunting at Desbarats; probably they were mother and 

 kits. In 1894, at Green Lake, Ont., he saw 5 together about 

 Christmas; all seemed fully grown. Charles G. D. Roberts 

 informs me that in New Brunswick a band of 5 or 6 Lynxes 



Fig. 187 — Right hind and right front tracks of a domestic cat (natural size) 

 for comparison with those of Lynx. 



are sometimes seen in company. All these cases are, I believe, 

 incidents of family life, and the Rabbit drives Nelson tells us 

 of have a similar explanation. 



The group may continue together until March comes, 

 bringing with it that great disintegrator of the family band — 

 the mating craze — which prompts the brother and sister to 

 shun each other, and seek each one a helpmate for himself. 



In hunting the Lynx a single small dog is enough to make pursuit 

 it take to a tree, but it is very apt to regain courage, come down 

 and kill the dog, unless the hunter be close at hand to succour 

 and support his noisy colleague. 



Although a desperate fighter when cornered, this animal 

 is easily killed. If it is taken in a snare, the trapper usually 

 picks up a stout stick and dispatches the victim with a blow on 

 the snout or back. 



In following it in winter I have often been impressed by 



