Lynxes are solitary, elusive creatures that go out of their way to avoid being seen. Yet with the advent of camera-trap photography, researchers and enthusiasts can observe them almost imperceptibly. In the United States, a short video of a Canadian lynx—one of the four lynx species in the world—has gone viral, showing the animal seemingly posing for the cameras as if aware of the lenses in front of it.
Clearly, the lynx does not know it is being recorded, but the natural ease of its movements, combined with precise framing and high-quality footage, creates a stunning image of spontaneity and grace.
The Voyageurs Wolf Project is a team that has installed 350 camera-traps across the Grand Ecosystem Voyageurs in Minnesota to study wolves and, in the process, document a variety of other wildlife that shares this habitat.
The lynxes are not only solitary and wary; they tend to be most active after dark and hunt under the cover of night. Their keen vision enables them to detect prey from more than 75 meters away, a capability that helps them stalk through forests with surprising stealth.
There are four lynx species on the planet: the red lynx (Lynx rufus), the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), and the Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis), the one featured in the footage.
The Canadian lynx is a proficient predator that relies heavily on snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) for sustenance, though it can hunt other small mammals and birds as well. In comparative terms, its size is generally smaller than that of its European counterparts.
……………….
Contact for the Environment section: [Source: Environment Desk].