Jaguar Spirit Documentary
Jaguar Spirit
A documentary exposing how Bolivia became the global centre of the illegal jaguar trade. Sign up for early access to the Jaguar Spirit film.
Animal Awareness Days
The lynx is a seldom-seen wildcat, found in the forests of North America, Europe, and Asia. These intelligent animals are apex predators within their forest habitats and play an important role in sustaining their local ecosystems.
Want to know more about the lynx? Then celebrate International Lynx Day by discovering fun facts about these spotted cats.
International Lynx Day (also known as National Lynx Day in some countries) is held on June 11th each year. It’s a chance to celebrate the beauty and grace of these furtive felines and to highlight the threats they face in the wild.
Lynx are threatened by trophy hunting, commercial exploitation, and climate change. So, International Lynx Day is the perfect time to raise awareness of their plight and support lynx conservation efforts.
Lynx aren’t currently endangered, but their survival is threatened by illegal hunting, wildlife tourism, and climate change.
In the US, lynx are killed for sport and their pelts. This trophy hunting harms animal welfare, threatens biodiversity, and undermines conservation and sustainable development efforts.
In Europe, lynx are often killed by farmers who are protecting their livestock. Such human wildlife conflict also threatens lynx’s survival and the balance of their ecosystems.
Cruelly exploited for commercial gain, lynx are used as circus performers in some countries. They’re also kept in pseudo “sanctuaries”, where tourist entertainment — not animal welfare — is the priority.
Climate change poses an increasing threat to lynx survival, as rising temperatures trigger wildfires in their habitat and reduce the availability of their prey. In Canada specifically, warmer temperatures are reducing winter snow cover, which Canada lynx rely on when hunting.
Here are some ideas for how you can celebrate International Lynx Day:
Find out about other animal awareness days and donate to save lynx.
A lynx is a type of forest-dwelling wildcat that eats small animals. It stands out from other wildcats thanks to the pointed tufts of hair on its ears and its short, stubby tail.
The Eurasian lynx is the biggest lynx species, weighing up to 30 kg, while the bobcat is the smallest, typically weighing between 7 and 14 kg. All are bigger than house cats but small compared to big cats like lions and tigers.
A lynx’s diet depends on its habitat. Canada lynx eat snowshoe hares, Iberian lynx eat European rabbits, bobcats eat a varied diet of rabbits, hares, birds, and rodents, and Eurasian lynx are large enough to hunt deer.
The terms bobcat and lynx are sometimes used interchangeably. However, the bobcat is a species of lynx that lives in North America — and it’s not a big cat. Big cats include lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, and jaguars. These cats all belong to the Panthera genus and are much bigger than lynx.
Lynx are typically elusive animals that ignore humans and are most active at night. However, if lynx feel threatened, they sometimes attack humans in self-defence. They’re also known to prey on livestock.
Jaguar Spirit
A documentary exposing how Bolivia became the global centre of the illegal jaguar trade. Sign up for early access to the Jaguar Spirit film.
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