156 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



The Canada Lynx is one of the most widely 

 known of northern animals. It is the " Lucivee " 

 {Loup cervier) of Canadians. It has a somewhat 

 clumsy appearance, its legs being very muscular 

 and its paws enormously disproportionate to its 

 lean body. The color of its coat is usually a dark 

 gray with chestnut tinge, and the shading renders 

 it indistinct against any background. It is 

 described by Mr. J. C. Nattrass as " an extremely 

 wary and timid animal, and possessing the 

 faculty of concealment to a wonderful degree. 

 He will, hke the Cougar, hide himself on a small 

 limb, flattening himself out thereon so that he is 

 almost concealed ; and only the most vigilant and 

 well-trained eye can discover him." Its main food 

 consists of cotton-tail rabbits, mice and small 

 birds ; it is partial also to the heads of grouse, 

 and it delights in a small deer. It is very clever 

 in unearthing deer, sheep, and young pigs which 

 the Cougar has hidden away for future con- 

 sumption. 



Strangely enough, although such a powerful 

 animal, the Lynx is not by any means tenacious 

 of life, a slight blow on the back sufficing to kill 

 it. It is a very good swimmer. Mr. Edward A. 

 Preble, when in the upper Mackenzie region, saw 

 one cross the Nahanni river. " It swam readily 

 in the swift current, and on reaching the shore 

 bounded away into the forest, apparently little 

 fatigued by its violent exertions." In the same 

 region " the Indians capture the Lynx bv snar- 

 ing, the noose being made of heavy twine or 

 babiche. In setting the snare, a circular inclos- 

 ure about five feet in diameter is made by stick- 

 ing pieces of brush into the crusted snow. One 

 or more openings are left, in which the noose 

 is placed at the proper height, so that the animal 

 attempting to enter the pen will put its head into 

 the loop. In the center of the inclosure is placed 

 a split stick smeared with the contents of the 

 musk glands of the Beaver, sometimes mixed 

 with perfumery of some sort, which serves to 

 attract the animal. The snare is attached to the 

 middle of a stout stick three or four feet long, 

 which acts as a drag when the animal is caught. 

 It thus generally becomes entangled in the brush 

 and after a few struggles remains passive, and, 

 if the weather is cold, quickly freezes to death. 

 The flesh of the Lynx is said to be very palata- 

 ble, and is eaten by the natives and to some ex- 

 tent by the white residents." 



Unlike the Bobcat, the Canada Lynx seldom 

 invades the farmyard ; it dwells in the deep for- 

 ests far from the haunts of man. Stone and 

 Cram think that the Lynx " must necessarily go 



without food often for days together in the 

 winter, glad enough perhaps to pull some frozen 

 scrap of flesh or skin out of the snow, dropped 

 there by some more fortunate hunters weeks 

 before. The lack of insect scavengers is not 

 felt in the woods in winter ; every scrap of flesh 

 that is scattered is wanted by one warm-blooded 

 creature or another before warm weather comes 

 again. The Lynx appears to have its summer 

 home in tangled thickets of young growth, where 

 the interlocking branches of fallen trees afford 

 protection. Here the ill-natured kittens [usually 

 two at a birth] are raised and taught to hunt." 

 A female Lynx, owned by Mr. J. C. Nattrass, 

 had been trained as a kitten and brought up in his 

 family as a domestic cat. It lost many of the 

 traits of its wild kin, and acquired others of the 

 house cat. Says Mr. Nattrass : " She is a beauti- 

 fully marked animal. She shows all the markings 

 of her grandfather except the tufted and pencilled 

 ears and the heavy limbs. She is a gentle, affec- 

 tionate, and intelligent animal. The children can 

 tease her with impunity: but game must never 

 he allowed near her. for when her teeth close 

 on a game bird, her wild instincts are aroused. 

 She is then a fury, and will fight to the death. 

 While cleaning some grouse one day, several 

 of them being laid out on the table, she came 

 purring up, rubbing her arched back caressingly 

 against my knee, when she got her eyes on the 

 birds. She seized one in her teeth, and started 

 to make off with it to the bushes. I seized her 

 bv the tail and attempted to take the bird from' 

 her, when all her wild instincts sprang into in- 

 stant play. Her fur turned the wrong way, her 

 tail bushed out, her sharp white claws were dis- 

 played, while her eyes blazed with fury. Fight- 

 ing like a demon, she clung to the grouse with 

 her sharp teeth. I became thoroughly indig- 

 nant, lifted her aloft, and banged her down on 

 a log with considerable force ; so heartily, in- 

 deed, that the grouse rolled into the bushes. 

 After the trouble was over, she calmed down 

 into the same old serene and complacent, pur- 

 ring pussy, showing no malice — in fact, seem- 

 ing to forget all about the matter." 



The Lynx is found as far south as the Adi- 

 rondack Mountains. In the Adirondacks, where 

 it is nowhere common, it preys, according to 

 Dr. Hart Merriam, "■ upon the northern hare, 

 and such other small mammals as it can catch, 

 and upon the ruffed grouse and spruce par- 

 tridge. It has been known to devour pigs, 

 lambs, and young fawns; but the accounts of 



