544 



REPORT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



Range. — Formerly from Indiana, Pennsylvania and Maine to 

 the northern limit of trees in Canada. Now extinct except in the 

 more sparsely settled regions. 



In Indiana the records are greatly confused with those of the 

 smaller bay lynx, and, to some extent, with accounts of the cougar. 

 The diiferences between these three species are well known to hun- 

 ters and trappers where all are found, but they are all called 

 ''catamounts" and "wild cats" by the later settlers, who heard of 

 them now and then, but seldom saw them. 



I can not be certain, from the Prince of Wied's account, whether 

 this species was found about New Harmony in 1832-33. He records 

 the lynx as ''not rare" and then recognizes the validity of God- 

 man's two species {canadensis and ruffns) , but does not state that 

 both live near New Harmony. Chansler gives a record of one 

 killed near Bicknell in 1832 and mentions several newspaper "rec- 

 ords" from Knox County in recent years, but does not place cre- 

 dence in them. Dr. Plummer omits it from his list of Wayne County 

 mammals in 1844. The historian of Steuben County wrote in 1885 

 that "both lynxes disappeared at least a third of a century ago." 

 The lynx is mentioned in several other county histories, but it is 

 impossible to tell which species is meant. Evermann and Butler 

 give the following records : Franklin County, ' ' formerly found, 

 » but never common"; Lagrange County, 1875; Montgomery Coun- 

 ty, one killed November 22, 1890, near Garfield ; Tippecanoe Coun- 

 ty, one killed in 1885 seven or eight miles west of Chauncy. " I 

 think it is extremely probable that these last two records should 

 refer to the bay lynx rather than to the Canada lynx. 



Habits. — According to most accounts, this is one of the fiercest 

 animals that roams the northern woods, excelling the cougar in 

 boldness, though lacking its strength. It is the dreaded Loup Cer- 

 vier of the French Canadians and northern Indians. 



When game of all sorts is scarce in the northern woods and the 

 lynx becomes fierce with hunger, there are few creatures that he 

 will hesitate to attack. Well authenticated instances are on record 

 of the animals following a man, and since they move rapidly and 

 silently through the tree-tops, there is little reason to doubt that 

 they will sometimes make a fatal attack on a lone hunter. They 

 capture deer by lying in wait and springing on the animal's back, 

 l)iting and cbiwing till the deer dr()[)s from loss of blood and ex- 

 liaiisl ion. unless it can gel r'id of its dread Toe by rurniing under the 

 low branches of a, tree; or jurni)ing into water. 



INIacfarlane states that the lynxes arc subject to periodic in- 



