Canada lynx
Lynx canadensis Kerr, 1792
The canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a mammal of the family Felidae, subfamily Felinae, in the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and nocturnal carnivore with an adult body mass of 9.4 kg and a highest reported value of 9.7 kg.
Quick facts about the canada lynx
Its main foods include american red squirrel, arctic hare, beaver, lemming, vole, mule deer, rangifer tarandus and carrion.
- Weight
- 9.37 kg – 9.68 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Height
- 48 cm – 56 cmsrc for Height
- Lifespan
- 26.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 26.9 years
- Main food
- american marten, american red squirrel, arctic fox, arctic hare, beaver, carrion and 14 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 63 days – 73 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.19src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 17.6 months – 18.8 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Live birthsrc for Reproduction
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the canada lynx?
Photos of the canada lynx
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the canada lynx live?
Not recorded
What is the canada lynx?
The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) or Canadian lynx is one of the four living species in the genus Lynx. It is a medium-sized wild cat characterized by long, dense fur, triangular ears with black tufts at the tips, and broad, snowshoe-like paws. Its hindlimbs are longer than the forelimbs, so its back slopes downward to the front. The Canada lynx stands 48–56 cm (19–22 in) tall at the shoulder and weighs between 5 and 17 kg (11 and 37 lb). It is a good swimmer and an agile climber.
The Canada lynx was first described by Robert Kerr in 1792. Three subspecies have been proposed, but their validity is doubted; it is mostly considered a monotypic species. It ranges across Alaska, Canada and northern areas of the contiguous United States, where it predominantly inhabits dense boreal forests.
It is a specialist predator and depends heavily on the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) for food. This leads to a prey-predator cycle, as the Canada lynx population responds to the cyclic rises and falls in snowshoe hare populations over the years in Alaska and central Canada. The Canada lynx population increases with an increasing hare population; if the hare population decreases in a given area, it moves to areas with more hares and has fewer offspring. The Canada lynx hunts mainly around twilight, or at night, when the snowshoe hare tends to be active. The Canada lynx waits for the hare on specific trails or in "ambush beds", then pounces on it and kills it by a bite on its head, throat or the nape of its neck. Individuals, particularly of the same sex, tend to avoid each other, forming "intrasexual" territories. The mating season is roughly a month long from March to early April. After a gestation of two to three months, females give birth to a litter of one to eight kittens, which are weaned at the age of 12 weeks.
Given its abundance throughout the range and lack of severe threats, the Canada lynx has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is regularly trapped for the international fur trade in most of Alaska and Canada but is protected in the southern half of its range due to threats such as habitat loss.
From the Wikipedia article “Canada lynx” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canada_lynx&oldid=1366722124), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the canada lynx endangered?
The canada lynx is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the canada lynx classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyFelidae
- genusLynx
- SpeciesLynx canadensis Kerr, 1792
Synonyms Felis borealis, Felis canadensis, Felis lynx canadensis, Felis lynx canadensis, Felis lynx subsolanus, Lynx canadensis canadensis, Lynx canadensis mollipilosus, Lynx canadensis subsolanus
Other names and names in other languages (46)
- Alaskan lynxEnglish
- American lynxEnglish
- American lynxEnglish
- Canadian lynxEnglish
- Canadian lynxEnglish
- LynxEnglish
- Newfoundland lynxEnglish
- Kanadese RooikatAfrikaans
- وشق كنديArabic
- Gato cerval canadienseAragonese
- Рысь канадскаяBelarusian
- natáyoSiksiká
- Linx canadencCatalan
- rys newfoundlandskýCzech
- rys kanadskýCzech
- Canadisk losDanish
- Kanadischer LuchsGerman
- Καναδικός ΛύγκαςGreek
- Lince de CanadaSpanish
- Lince canadienseSpanish
- Línce CanadienseSpanish
- Lince del CanadáSpanish
- kanadanilvesFinnish
- loup-cervierFrench
- lynx du CanadaFrench
- שונר קנדיHebrew
- Kanadski risCroatian
- kanadai hiúzHungarian
- Կանադական լուսանArmenian
- Lince canadeseItalian
- カナダオオヤマネコJapanese
- 캐나다스라소니Korean
- apuksiknMi'kmaw
- KanadagaupeNorwegian Bokmål
- Canadese LynxDutch
- BizhiwOjibwa
- ryś kanadyjskiPolish
- Lince CanadensePortuguese
- Lince do CanadáPortuguese
- Râs canadianRomanian
- Канадская рысьRussian
- kanadensiskt lodjurSwedish
- ลิงซ์แคนาดาThai
- Kanada vaşağıTurkish
- Рись канадськаUkrainian
- 加拿大猞猁Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the canada lynx
Other species in the same genus Lynx.
Eurasian lynx
Lynx lynx
Bobcat
Lynx rufus
Iberian lynx
Lynx pardinus
CompareCanada lynx vs Eurasian lynxCanada lynx vs BobcatCanada lynx vs Iberian lynxCanada lynx vs Lynx spelaea
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the canada lynx?
The canada lynx is a mammal in the family Felidae and the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial carnivore.
How heavy is a canada lynx?
An adult Canada lynx weighs 9.4 kg, with a highest reported body mass of 9.7 kg.
What does the canada lynx eat?
The canada lynx is a carnivore. Its main foods include american red squirrel, arctic hare, beaver, lemming, vole, rabbit, mule deer, rangifer tarandus and carrion.
Is the canada lynx endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List lists the canada lynx as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
How long does a canada lynx live?
Our sources give a lifespan of 26.77 years for the canada lynx, with a highest reported value of 26.9 years.
When does the canada lynx reach sexual maturity?
The canada lynx reaches sexual maturity at 1.5 years (554.3 days).
Who named the canada lynx?
The scientific name Lynx canadensis was given by Kerr, 1792.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/canada-lynx
“Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/canada-lynx.
@misc{canada_lynx_2026,
title = {Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/canada-lynx},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}