Awesome Animal Fact - Wandering Lynxes

Did you know lynxes go on epic journeys, traveling over 2,100 miles? Just a few years ago, no one even imagined that these 20 to 30 pound (9 to 14 kg) cats could travel such immense distances. But during the last five years, scientists have radio-collared 170 of these felines to study their movements in Alaska and Canada.

After a lynx is old enough to live on its own, it will go on a journey, called a dispersal.

One of the studied lynxes, nicknamed Hobo, traveled 2,174 miles (3,500 km). And not just on flat ground. Hobo swam across several large, dangerous rivers and climbed over tall mountains on its journey.

Why do these cats travel such long distances? No one knows for sure yet, but scientists think they are following the population cycles of the snowshoe hare, which is the lynx's favorite prey animal. They continue traveling, even enduring amazingly harsh conditions, until they find a good population of hares, then they stop and establish a new home territory.

Photo Credits:
- Lynx - DepositPhotos