Eurasian lynx, one of the widest ranging of all cat species

Baku, April 23, AZERTAC

The Eurasian lynx is the third largest predator in Europe after the brown bear and the wolf, and the largest of the 4 lynx species. It has a short body, long legs and large feet. The ears have a characteristic black tuft at the tip while the paws have sharp retractile claws. Fur is usually grey to red and more or less spotted.

Over the past 50 to 80 years, autochthonous populations of lynx have made an impressive recovery in northern Europe, in the Carpathians and in north-east Europe, west of Russia, contributing to the 10-fold population increase during that period.

The Eurasian lynx has a wide range, extending across Europe, central Asia (it is distributed across the entire Tibetan plateau), Siberia and East Asia. In Europe, however, there is now limited connectivity between subpopulations.

The main threats to the Eurasian lynx are hunting and habitat loss. Although the population has benefitted from the ban on legal international fur trade, illegal hunting still represents a major threat.

In autumn of 2010, a camera captured images of Eurasian lynx in the territory of Azerbaijan.