Eurasian lynx

Velvet Paws with Sharp Claws
When longing, hoarse calls echo through the forests in February and March, it’s mating season for lynx. During this time, the scent marks that these small cats leave behind using their urine are extremely attractive to the opposite sex. But this isn’t always the case, because outside of this period, the scent marks demarcate territories and keep neighbors at a distance.
The lynx is a stealth hunter that hides in the thicket as long as possible, creeping forward on its silent velvet paws, only to strike with a single leap at the right moment. This is when its claws come into play; it extends them at lightning speed with the help of its long flexor tendons. Once it has seized its prey, it kills it with a bite to the throat. When it no longer needs its claws, they are retracted by elastic ligaments. This protects the claws, keeping them sharp at all times, and they are not visible in its footprints.

Did you know?

The lynx had been extinct in Austria for about 150 years. Since some began migrating back from Slovakia in the 1960s, efforts have been made to facilitate the return of these tufted-eared animals through further reintroductions into the wild.