The Canada lynx is a mid-sized boreal forest carnivore in most of northern North America. In the United States, Canada lynx were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2000. The lynx serves as a classic predator, feeding almost exclusively on the snowshoe hare, a large northern rabbit that wears a brown coat in summer and a white one in winter. They are solitary hunters that are more active at night than in the day. The lynx are similar to bobcats in size and appearance. With large feet and long hind legs, are highly adapted to hunting in deep, powdery snow. These adaptations likely provide lynx a seasonal competitive advantage over other predators of hares. The lynx’s exceptionally large paws, long hind legs, long black ear tufts and short, black-tipped tail distinguish it from the bobcat, which is much more common than lynx outside of Alaska, in the contiguous 48 states.

Lynx occur broadly across most of Canada and Alaska, where their distribution within the spruce-fir forest ecosystem. Forests that extend south into the contiguous United States in the boreal/hardwood forest ecotone in northern New England and the western Great Lakes region, and the subalpine forests along the North Cascade and Rocky Mountain ranges in the western United States. Populations of this species are likely to persist in areas across this geography that are characterized by deep snow and dense horizontal forest cover that support adequate densities of snowshoe hares.