Lynx

a large, grayish, densely furred, fierce member of the cat family. Although called the Canada lynx it ranges throughout a large part of northern America. It is about thirty-nine inches in length and stands eighteen inches high. It has a broad, flat head with a fierce face and a bobbed tail, black at the tip. A long pencil of stiff black hairs rises from each ear. The feet are heavily furred, enabling the lynx to tread lightly over loose snow, as though it wore snow shoes. The chief food of the lynx consists of rabbits and partridges, although nothing that is flesh comes amiss. It is not aggressive, but is a dangerous antagonist when brought to bay or when defending its young. The lynx hunts less by scent than by virtue of its keen sight, giving rise to the expression "lynx-eyed." There are a number of Old World species. The American wildcat, known also as the bay lynx, is a very similar, reddish-gray animal, about thirty-five inches in length, with like habits. It is more generally distributed in the older settled parts of the country. See Cat