Eurasian lynx - Lynx lynx

Lynx facts

Size

Males 18 – 25 kg
Females 12 – 16 kg

Reproduction
Mating: March
Birth: May - June
Litter size: 1-4, normally 2-3

Diet
Strictly carnivorous.
Roe deer, chamois, red deer, hares, forest birds, domestic sheep, semi-domestic reindeer

Social organisation
Solitary and territorial - little overlap with members of same sex.

Home ranges
Vary from 120 to 1800 km2 for males and 80 to 500 km2 for females.

Eurasian lynx - Lynx lynx. Photo © John Linnell/NINA

Threats:

(1) Throughout Europe poaching is one of the major threats to lynx survival.

(2) In countries such as Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Romania lynx are hunted. There is a need to ensure that quotas here remain at a sustainable level.

(3) The Balkan population is very small, completely isolated, and lives in habitats with a poor prey base. This population is the one of greatest concern in Europe today.

(4) Lynx in some parts of their range (e.g. NE Poland, Belarus and Lithuania) have a very fragmented distribution, living in forest patches isolated from each other by farmland.

Distribution:

Distribution maps available from Data Dryad

Status:

8,000 to 9,000 in Europe (of which 7,000 to 8,000 in the EU)
11 populations

Population name	Countries	Size (2012-2016)	Trend
Scandinavian	Norway, Sweden	1300 - 1800	Decline
Karelian	Finland	2500	Stable
Baltic	Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine	1200 - 1500	Slight decrease
Bohemian-Bavarian-Austrian	Czech Republic, Germany, Austria	60-80	Stable
Carpathian	Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria	2100-2400	Stable
Alpine	Switzerland, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, France	163	Slowly increasing
Jura	France, Switzerland	140	Slowly increasing
Vosges Palatinian	France, Germany	1 - 3	Decline
Dinaric	Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina	130	Stable or decrease
Harz Mountains	Germany	46	Slowly increasing
Balkan	"the former Yugoslav Republic of 20 - 40	20 - 40	Stable

Link - IUCN Red List Assessment for Eurasian lynx in Europe