Canadian lynx

Lynx simply cannot survive without hunting hares, as they are their main source of food. In turn, snowshoe hares need a thick undergrowth of shrubs and saplings for food and cover. Such habitat is found in young forests regenerating after disturbances created by windthrow, forest insects, forest disease, or fire. The snowshoe hare is a vital part of the forest food web.

Lynx are ultimately limited to forests with deep snows. It is here where they have evolved a competitive edge over other carnivores. With their thick fur, long legs and large, furry “snowshoe” paws, lynx easily tolerate extreme cold and deep snows – as long as there are sufficient hares about. But this specialization to one main prey comes at a cost...

Competing carnivores tend to be generalists, meaning they can switch back and forth to whichever prey is most abundant or easily caught. Lynx simply cannot afford much competition for snowshoe hares, especially during populations lows. They need the isolation deep snow offers from close competitors, especially coyotes and bobcats.

Bobcats are uncommon in Banff National Park, but coyotes, wolves and cougars do live here. Snow-packed winter trails made by snowshoes or skis and plowed roads may provide these carnivores with sustained access to deep snow areas. Access by competing predators into important nodes of habitat could potentially impact the hunting success of lynx. Dogs, especially those off leash, may also interrupt and stress lynx trying to hunt or rest.

Lynx are usually solitary carnivores, and like their pray the hares, they are mostly active at night.

Within their home ranges, they hunt at a fine scale by wandering back and forth among forest stands with relatively high prey densities. The Lake Louise area appears to holds important nodes of habitat for lynx; research from 1996 to 2000 found the home ranges of three lynx overlapped here. Home ranges for resident adults averaged about 220 km2 in the southern study area, which included the three mountain parks and provincial lands. Researchers found that lynx averaged at least 3.5 km of daily travel, but ranged up to 32 km. However, when hare numbers drop, many resident lynx abandon their home ranges and become transient.

In southern British Columbia and Alberta, it's thought that lynx occupy the landscape in loosely connected populations. Within each population, resident lynx are likely to breed with each other. Due to the fragmented nature of the landscape and the uneven distribution of snowshoe hare, some populations may produce offspring, while others don't. The latter rely on immigrants, usually juveniles, to disperse in from more productive lynx populations and reproduce. Dispersers help sustain genetic diversity or may augment a small population. Without this steady supply of new individuals, small populations are at risk of local extinction.