Lynx lynx

The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is the largest wild cat found in Europe, recognisable by the black tufts on the tips of its ears and its short tail with a black tip. In Italy, it occupies a well-established north-eastern Alpine population and a western population, between Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, which has so far been confirmed only by sporadic sightings.

The Eurasian lynx is the largest wild cat found in Europe: its body length, excluding the tail, ranges from 70 cm to 130 cm, with a'withers height of 60–75 cm and a weight of between 18 kg and 30 kg in males, with females generally being lighter; some males reach 36 kg. It is recognised by its short tail with a black tip, the characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of its triangular ears, the tufts of hair framing its muzzle, and a fawn-brown coat with a spotted pattern whose density and design vary from individual to individual and from population to population. Its paws are equipped with retractable claws, a feature that distinguishes its footprints from those of canids, which lack claw marks.

The species’ range extends from Scandinavia and central-eastern Europe to Siberia and Central Asia, where populations remain numerically substantial and largely continuous. In western and southern Europe, however, the lynx had disappeared by the end of the 19th century due to direct hunting and the contraction of the forest range and prey populations; its current presence in the Alps, the Jura, the Vosges and Bohemia stems from reintroduction projects carried out from the 1970s and 1980s onwards, using individuals of Carpathian origin, released mainly in Switzerland and Slovenia. In the Alps, the highest densities are found in the central-western Swiss Alps, the French Jura Mountains and in Slovenia. In Italy, the species is documented in two distinct Alpine populations: the north-eastern one (Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia), fuelled by immigration from the Dinaric-Slovenian population, and a western population (Piedmont, Aosta Valley) consisting of sporadic records linked to the more established populations in France and Switzerland; the first records in the Western Alps date back to the early 1980s. The sources consulted do not, at present, document a stable, breeding population on the Italian side of the Western Alps.

Active mainly at dusk and at night, the lynx is a solitary, territorial ambush hunter: it approaches its prey with a slow, silent advance, before securing its catch with a short leap. Its diet consists mainly of small and medium-sized ungulates, in particular the roe deer (roe deer Capreolus capreolus), along with chamois (chamois Rupicapra rupicapra — fact sheet not yet published) and red deer (red deer Cervus elaphus) as secondary prey where present; the diet is rounded off by hares (hare Lepus europaeus — entry not yet published), foxes (fox Vulpes vulpes — entry not yet published), rodents and birds. The mating season falls during the winter months; the male and female meet for only a few days, whilst the care of the young — in litters generally comprising 1–4 individuals — is the sole responsibility of the female.

Globally, the species is classified as ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN Red List, owing to its extensive Eurasian range and the stability of populations in Northern and Eastern Europe. However, the conservation status at a more localised level is different: some isolated European subpopulations, including those in the Alps, are classified as “Endangered” or “Critically Endangered” (Critically Endangered); in the Italian Red List of Vertebrates (2013 update), however, the species appears in the ‘Not Applicable’ (NA) category, reserved for taxa considered marginal for the purposes of national-level assessment.

Direct sightings of the lynx in the wild remain a rare occurrence even in areas where its presence is confirmed: the species’ elusiveness and predominantly nocturnal habits mean that most sightings are based on indirect evidence — footprints lacking claw marks, remains of prey partially covered in earth or snow, or images from camera traps. On the western side of the Italian Alps, including Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, documented evidence remains, to date, limited to occasional sightings of this kind.

Lynx footprints can be confused with those of a medium-to-large dog: the main distinguishing feature is the absence of claw marks, due to the retractability of the claws, a trait absent in canids. Compared to the wildcat (wildcat Felis silvestris — fact sheet not yet published), the lynx is distinguished by its significantly larger size, its short tail rather than a long, ringed one, and its ear tufts.

Fact sheet

Common name: Eurasian lynx (synonym: wolf-cervier)
Scientific name: Lynx lynx (Linnaeus, 1758)
Species: placental mammal, order Carnivora
Family: Felidae (Felines)
Distribution: Eurasia, from Scandinavia andCentral-Eastern Europe to Siberia and Central Asia; fragmented populations of reintroduced origin in Western Europe (the Alps, the Jura, the Vosges, Bohemia, the Balkans) Habitat: mountain and lowland forests with good tree cover and an abundance of ungulate prey
Diet: carnivorous, mainly small and medium-sized ungulates