All cats are beautiful without exception, but... appearance For some species, nature has worked especially hard. The Pyrenean or spanish lynx(Lynx pardinus), which I want to tell you about today.
The Iberian lynx is so beautiful that, with your permission, I would compare it with a young Spanish beauty with fiery eyes and black voluminous eyebrows. This cat's face is simply incredible - looking at it, you get the impression that an experienced makeup artist and stylist were preparing it for a photo shoot. This is precisely what distinguishes the Iberian lynx from the ordinary lynx. And the Spanish relative of our lynx has very bright spots on its body, which is why the Spanish lynx is sometimes called the European leopard.
The size of the Iberian lynx is small: the height at the withers rarely exceeds 60-70 cm, with a body length of about 1 meter. Such sizes do not allow hunting large game, so the Spanish lynx's food base consists of hares and small birds. It is extremely rare for a lynx to attack young ungulates. The lynx hunts at any time of the day, but in summer, due to the heat, it does it mainly at night.
Another distinctive external feature The Iberian lynx's tail is. True, it’s more like a tail, especially when compared with other representatives of the cat family.
Iberian lynxes leading single image life and only during the mating season they unite in pairs. Pregnancy lasts about 70 days. Typically, one to four kittens are born, which remain with their mother until approximately 8-12 months.
It is extremely difficult to meet this beauty. IN wildlife they live only in mountainous area Spain. Largest population preserved in national park Coto Doñana. Alas, I will now again say a phrase that is already familiar to you: this species of wild cats is one of the rarest in nature and is on the verge of extinction. According to Spanish zoologists, today there are about 100 individuals left in the wild, which makes this cat one of the rarest, along with Far Eastern leopard and the Asiatic cheetah...
What do you think of this beauty?
Iberian lynx (lat. Lynx pardinus), also called Spanish, Iberian or Sardinian, was previously considered by many zoologists as a variety. But despite their significant similarity, these species are still different, and, as it turned out, they evolved independently of one another - each along its own branch. Among the most obvious differences between the Iberian lynx and its brother in the family is its size (“Pyrenees” are smaller than “Eurasians”), as well as a lighter background color and pronounced spotting, which gives the animal’s fur a resemblance to a leopard’s coloring.
In winter, the lush fur becomes thinner and loses its brightness, which visually deprives the cat of a significant part of its volume, but the animal’s face is still adorned with a luxurious fur frame. The body of the Iberian lynx is about a meter in length, a fifth of which is allocated to the tail - short, thick, with a black-colored end. The cat's wide paws are ideally suited for moving through mountainous terrain, because Iberian lynxes are true natives of the Spanish mountains.
flickr/vivtony00
They settled firmly in the southwestern regions of Spain, and most of individuals concentrated in Coto Doñana - a giant natural park, on whose territory many birds and animals live, among which you can find very outlandish species. However, few animals can compete with the uniqueness of the Iberian lynx, since this animal is not just a rare species, but an endangered one - there are no more than several hundred specimens in the world.
Strong and graceful cat can boast of extraordinary hunting abilities: although in its standard menu the dominant positions belong to rabbits and hares, fish, birds and small rodents, the lynx is quite capable of attacking more large animal- say, a roe deer or deer, the size of which is many times greater than its own.
flickr/Simon Littlejohn
Like most wild cats, the Iberian lynx leads night look life, during the day preferring to hide from prying eyes. They live alone, carefully protecting the borders of their territory from unwanted intrusions. Male territories can cover an area of 15-18 square meters. km, and only females enter the possessions of male relatives - their habitat areas often overlap with the territory of cats.
The breeding season of the Iberian lynx lasts almost six months - from January to July. Males throughout mating season can mate with several females, but each cat can produce offspring no more than once a year. To make the process of giving birth to kittens more comfortable, the expectant mother devotes the pregnancy period, which lasts an average of 70-80 days, to finding and arranging a suitable den. Secluded thickets or a cavity in a tree trunk are quite suitable for this.
A litter usually contains from 1 to 4 kittens. The fathers of the family are little concerned about the fate of the offspring, and all the troubles of caring for the babies fall on the female. A caring mother, wanting to protect the heirs from troubles and protect them from enemies, every three weeks moves the cubs to a new den - more spacious and more comfortable than the previous one. Up to 5 months, the lynx feeds the kittens with milk, although already at the age of one month they are able to switch to solid food. And even the mother does not deprive the children who have grown up considerably and does not leave them unattended: the lynx cubs remain on her territory until they find their own area.
The Spanish lynx is one of the most rare mammals Earth. Only about 140 animals remain in the wild. At the beginning of the 20th century. the spanish lynx was quite normal look and the population size was estimated at approximately 100 thousand individuals. Why did such sad events happen? First, the population of the European rabbit, which is the main game of the lynx, has been greatly reduced as a result of infections. Secondly, due to the uncontrolled shooting of lynxes, most of the adults could not take part in breeding, and the kittens died, left without the protection of their parents. General change natural environment, urbanization, intensive agricultural activity - all played a role. The fact remains: without special conservation measures, the Spanish lynx will disappear from the wild in the near future.
Previously, the Spanish lynx was considered a subspecies of the common lynx; it was distinguished in separate species recently. Today it has been proven that these are two separate species.
WHERE DOES IT LIVE?
The Spanish lynx is found exclusively in the southwest, where only two populations exist, isolated from each other. This factor makes the species even more vulnerable: a much smaller number of individuals participate in the reproduction of the species. IN old times Spanish lynx was quite widespread on the Iberian Peninsula. Today the species is considered extinct for the territory. Unlike the European lynx, which lives in the forest zone, the Iberian lynx prefers bushes.
HOW TO FIND OUT
The lynx has a small, graceful body, a neat muzzle, ears with beautiful dark tassels and short tail. Body length ranges from 85 to 110 cm, and average weight is 12-15 kg. It is smaller in size than its closest relative, the common lynx. The fur is covered with dark spots, which makes it look like a leopard, and is shorter compared to other types of lynx. Since the animal lives in warm latitudes, there is no need for long hair with thick undercoat.
LIFESTYLE AND BIOLOGY
Like all predators, the lynx is highly dependent on its food source. The size of its individual range (ranging from 10-20 km2) also varies, depending on how much prey is available on it. The latter also depends on competitors for food among relatives - primarily the red fox and the Egyptian mongoose. The main prey of the lynx are rabbits and hares. Only sometimes does it attack young deer.
During the mating season, the female “forgets” that she is a territorial predator, leaves her area and goes in search of a male. Pregnancy lasts about two months, babies are born in March - September. There are usually two or three kittens in a litter. The weight of a newborn lynx cub is only 200-250 g. At the age of 7 to 10 months, babies become completely independent, but are in no hurry to leave their mother forever. As a rule, they stay with her for another 10-12 months, and then go in search of individual sites. In captivity, Spanish lynxes reach sexual maturity at one year of age. In the wild, everything is different. Here, lynx cubs go through a longer period of growing up and are heavily dependent on the hunting skills received from their mother. There is a known case where a female lynx who lost her mother in early age, brought kittens only at five years old. Probably, animals understand with their natural instinct that, without being able to obtain the necessary food, they cannot reproduce. The maximum life expectancy is 13 years.
Spanish lynx kittens aged one to two months show increased aggression towards each other: growling, biting and fighting. Moreover, these are not just “brotherly games”, as is the case with other types of cats. As a result of such skirmishes, the younger and weaker lynx often dies. Therefore, today one of the possible ways to preserve the species is to isolate babies from each other.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF
Kingdom: Animalia.
Phylum: Chordata.
Class: Mammals (Mammalia).
Order: Carnivora (Carnivora).
Family: Felidae.
Genus: Lynx (Lynx).
Species: Spanish lynx (Lynx pardinus).
Titles: Iberian lynx, Spanish lynx.
Area: southwest Spain, Portugal.
Description: externally, the Spanish lynx (except for its small stature) is very similar to its relatives living in Eurasia. She has long and wide legs and a very short tail. The fur is long, “sideburns” grow on the muzzle, the tufts on the ears are black, and the mustache is long. Winter fur is thicker and lighter than summer fur. Females are smaller than males.
Color: the main background is light, dark spots are sharply expressed.
Size: body length 85-110 cm, tail 12-13 cm, height at withers 45-70 cm.
Weight: 4-10 kg.
Lifespan: up to 10-13 years.
Habitat: forested mountainous areas, found both in open areas and in forest thickets.
Enemies: Human.
Food: the basis of the diet of the Iberian lynx are rabbits (up to 75-95% of the total), hares and rats. It also hunts reptiles and amphibians, birds, fish and insects. Sometimes it attacks young roe deer or deer.
Behavior: The Spanish lynx is active at night in the warm season, and during the day in winter.
In bad weather he hides in caves or full of trees. Runs well. Vision and sense of smell are well developed, allowing the lynx to detect prey at a distance of up to 300 m. It can travel up to seven kilometers per day (during hunting).
It hunts from ambush - usually hiding on a tree branch, behind a stump or rock - and waits for the prey to come close enough to attack it. It carries the caught prey some distance away from the killing site and only then begins to eat it. Leave the uneaten part for the next day.
Social structure: except for the breeding season, the Iberian lynx leads a solitary lifestyle, protecting its territory from strangers. The size of an individual site ranges from 10 (for females) to 18 (for males) km 2 . The boundaries of the site may change over time and depending on the number of rabbits.
The male's territory partially overlaps with several of the females' territories.
It marks the boundaries of its territory with scent marks.
Reproduction: Once the male has established his own territory (usually by age 3), he can breed. Throughout the breeding season, a male may mate with several females. The female bears offspring only once a year.
For childbirth, the female makes a den in hollow trees.
Breeding season/period: from January to July.
Puberty: by three years.
Pregnancy: lasts 72-78 days.
Benefit/harm for humans: The Spanish lynx is hunted by humans for its skin and meat.
In early 1970, hunting Iberian lynx was banned, but it is still hunted.
By the local population (farmers), the lynx is persecuted as a predator, sometimes attacking livestock.
Population/Conservation Status: Spanish Lynx - rare view, listed in Appendix I of the CITES Convention, as well as in the International Red Book.
The population size as of 2005 is about 100-200 adult individuals.
The main threats to the species: loss of habitats (destruction and cutting down of cork and oak forests), decrease in the number of food resources ( european rabbit), high mortality on the roads in collisions with vehicles.
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