Wolves have agile hands and a healthy posture, their weight is about 30-50 pounds, the body length is 1.5 meters, they have excellent endurance, they can run more than ten kilometers in a day, so they rarely escape the claws of the prey they stare at. Coupled with the wolf's insight into the environment, it is even more effective in hunting.
However, the wolf, as a ferocious beast that knows how to hunt in a team, is crushed by the lynx. In the same gathering place, the development of wolves is bound to decline, which is very puzzling. Knowing that the lynx is small and solitary, how can the world's most widely distributed mammals be frightened?
But in fact, the lynx is called the "wolf killing machine", even if the wolf pack knows how to raise cubs together, hunting also pays attention to group cooperation, but still can not avoid the long-term suppression of the lynx, what is going on?
01, lynx characteristics
Lynx is a medium-sized cat, which is similar in appearance to domestic cats, but is larger, so lynx folk are also known as "big wild cats", their size is generally 85-105cm, weighing 20-30 pounds, short tail, long limbs, gray-brown hair, looking "harmless to humans and animals".
Lynx are small and classified as subfamily cats, while lynx are divided into 3 categories, such as Spanish lynx, Canadian lynx, and Eurasian lynx. Among these 3 types of lynx, the Eurasian lynx has the strongest combat power and is the combat power ceiling in the cat subfamily, so the narrow sense of the lynx refers to the Eurasian lynx, which is the combat power ceiling of the cat subfamily.
As a very ferocious beast, the lynx is an excellent predator in the jungle, the hearing system is agile, and the movements of rats tens of meters away are all eared by it. However, in addition to catching small animals, it also captures medium and large animals such as roe deer.
Whenever it catches prey, the lynx uses its surroundings as cover, lurking in areas where the prey may appear, and when the target appears, the lynx will suddenly attack and hunt with sharp claws, teeth, and a strong jaw to kill the prey.
Compared to wolves, lynx have excellent bouncing and tree climbing abilities, making it difficult for wolves to fight in groups against lynx. But whenever in danger, the lynx can climb the trees. Today, large predators are rare in eurasian forests, so the lynx is the uncrowned king of the forest.
02, why is the lynx called a "wolf-killing machine"
In the Eurasian forest, lynx and wolf are a pair of life and death enemies, because the two are in the ecological chain of competition, the two prey is basically similar, so in the same area, killing the opponent can increase the probability of their own survival, so the wolf and the lynx will inevitably hunt when they meet, in order to eliminate the opponent and improve their survival rate.
However, the lynx is small and difficult to win against adult wolves, so the lynx usually does not take the initiative to fight adult wolves, and will also avoid wolves when encountered. Therefore, the clever lynx chose the wolf cub as the target to reduce the size of the wolf pack as much as possible.
The lynx, known as the "wolf-killing machine", actually originated from a study by Belarusian zoologists.
During the period 1997-12017, scholars observed lynx and wolf packs in the Naliboki Forest and found that the distribution density of lynx gradually increased, while the survival rate of wolf cubs continued to decrease.
For example, from 1999 to 2011, the distribution density of lynx was 0.45 per square kilometer, while the survival rate of wolf cubs was 70%; from 2012 to 2015, the density of lynx was 1.5/km2, and the survival rate of wolf cubs was 37%; in 2016-2017, the density of lynx was 2-5/km2, and the survival rate of wolf cubs dropped to 4%. On the contrary, the survival rate of lynx pups is about 80%.
From the above data, it can be seen that the hunting of wolf pack cubs by lynx for up to 20 years has made the wolf pack almost "cut off its children and grandchildren", and it is difficult to grow and develop. From the tracking records, scholars have recorded 16 lynx hunting and killing wolves, of which 5 adult wolves were also hunted by lynx.
In order to avoid being hunted by lynx, the wolves have made 3 adjustments. The first was to lay wolf cubs next to bushes and improve the wolf's nest, but still could not avoid the fate of being hunted; the second time was when wolves gave birth to wolf cubs in their burrows and guarded the opening of the cave so that the lynx could not get close. However, when adult wolves go out to forage, the lynx will take the opportunity to sneak up and kill the wolf cubs.
In the end, the wolves had no choice but to leave the forest, after all, the lynx did not dare to go out of the forest, and without the skill of climbing trees, the mortality rate of the lynx increased greatly. But there is no food outside the forest, and the wolves can only return to the forest again, and change the mode of survival, gather the wolf cubs to care for, and hunt in batches to avoid the attack of lynx, which can get rid of the doom of the wolf cubs not being able to grow.
03. The lynx won the Battle of the Guardians
The wolves were not indifferent to the lynx's hunting of wolf cubs, and they also began to hunt the lynx and rob them of their food. Scholars have observed four wolf pack attacks on lynx, one is to hunt the lynx and its cubs, and the other is to rob food.
However, although wolves can loot food, it is difficult to hunt lynx and its cubs, after all, lynx have the ability to climb trees, and they basically do not go out of the forest. The lynx is also very secretive in the choice of shelter, and each dwelling will build 3-4 caves for the lynx to hide.
Except for sleeping, the lynx cubs are almost active in the trees at other times, and even if the wolf finds the other party, it is indifferent.
In addition, scholars have also found that male lynx also help lynx mother and child, guarding and providing food for mother and child. The male lynx is significantly larger and has a stronger attack power, which can be a good deterrent to wolves.
Because of this, in the cub protection war between wolves and lynx, the lynx won the cub protection war with an absolute advantage, which made the wolves feel frightened. But if you are facing the enemy head-on, the lynx is not the opponent of the adult male wolf, which is enough to explain the wisdom and survival of the lynx.