190S.] 



MAMMALS. 



209 



instances of the occurrence of the panther in the southern Canadian 

 Kockies. One was seen by him in 1883 in the mountains in about 

 hititude 51° 30', and longitude 117. In 1884 a pair were reported 

 near the junction of Bow and Cascade rivers, Alberta. Others were 

 afterwards seen near the Kananaskis River, in the mountains south- 

 west of Calgary.* 



Lynx canadensis Kerr. Canada Lynx. 



Though this animal is found nearly throughout the wooded parts 

 of the region, we observed it but once during the season of 1901, seeing 

 one on the banks of Slave River, a few miles above its mouth, on 

 August 1. 



During the season of 1903, though tracks were frequently seen, I 

 actually observed the animal but once, noting one on the Mackenzie, 

 a few miles below Blackwater River, on October 6. After the snow 

 fell we frequently saw their tracks as we were ascending the 

 Mackenzie. 



The winter of 1903-4 was remarkable for the abundance of lynxes 

 throughout the upper Mackenzie region. The fact that they usually 

 increase coincidently with the hares, which form their chief food, 

 probably accounts for their abundance that season. Hundreds of 

 skins were traded at Fort Simpsoa during the winter. I obtained a 

 pair of adults which were snared by James MacKinlay, 30 miles south 

 of Fort Simpson, in November. The male of this pair measured: 

 Total length 950, tail vertebrae 100, hind foot 250; the female meas- 

 ured 920, 105, 235. A female, partially albinistic, being of a nearly 

 uniform light yellowish-brown, with eyes of a deep pink, was brought 

 to me on April 16 from the mouth of Rabbitskin River, 20 miles above 

 Fort Simpson, where it had been snared. It measured 840, 135, 260. 

 A hunter's skin of a young one, a month or two old, obtained at Fort 

 Simpson, is rufous above, gradually shading into white beneath, 

 breast and belly spotted with dusky; tail rufous above, lighter be- 

 neath, and tipped with dusky. Besides these specimens, I obtained 

 a large series of skulls from Fort Simpson. 



The Indians capture the lynx mainly by snaring, the noose being 

 made of heavy twine or babiche. (PI. XXII.) In setting the snare, 

 a circular inclosure about 5 feet in diameter is made by sticking 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 



« Biological Rev. of Ontario, I, pp. 81-83, 1894. 

 44181— No. 27—08 14 



