Behavioural interactions among Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) during pre-estrous

• Published in: The Canadian Field-Naturalist
• Main Authors: Bailey, Theodore N., Bailey, Brian N.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 2021
• Subjects: Alaska; Canada Lynx; Lynx canadensis; fighting; mating behaviour; scent marking; territoriality; vocalizations; Canada; Lynx
• Online Access: https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/2563; https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v135i2.2563

Information is lacking on the behaviour of free-roaming Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) during the breeding season, likely because they are rarely observed in the wild. Other wild solitary felid males compete with each other to mate with promiscuous females. However, the behavioural context or sequence of this competition among wild male Canada Lynx remains unreported. We describe the behaviour of three adult wild lynx during the breeding season. We observed the first two lynx together; an adult male and an inferred adult female remained together non agonistically for nearly 2 h before they were interrupted by another adult male. Our observation of interaction between the two males includes agonistic behaviours, vocalizations, scent marking, fighting, and a long-distance (1.7-km) expulsion of the intruding male lynx by the first male. These observations add to the limited information available on the social ecology of lynx during the breeding season.