Eurasian lynx
Lynx lynx
A medium-sized cat with ear tufts, a short black-tipped tail, and a spotted coat. It is a native resident in Georgia and is on the national Red List.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Diet
Carnivore
Status in Georgia
Resident
Size
90–120 cm
Habitat
Forest / semi-arid
Family
Felidae
Conservation
CR / LC
Human interaction: It has no venom and is not treated as food. It usually avoids people. It is a large cat: it may defend itself, kittens, or a kill if you meet it suddenly. Do not approach, feed, or let a dog chase it. In some villages it may kill sheep or goats — that is conflict, not evidence that it hunts people. A documented series of attacks on people in Georgia is not on this page. Any wild mammal can theoretically carry rabies. Do not handle wild animals.
Overview
What is Eurasian lynx
The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is a mammal in the cat family (Felidae) and a native resident in Georgia. It appears on national mammal checklists. In the Caucasus it is usually treated as subspecies L. l. dinniki (Satunin, 1915); field identification is to species. The IUCN Cat Specialist Group gives species-level body length of about 90–120 cm, tail 19–23 cm, and mass 17–25 kg; southern populations are often lighter. A measured Georgian series is not on this page. It has no venom. The human risk is a rare encounter or livestock loss — not poison. IUCN lists the species globally as Least Concern. Georgia’s 2014 Red List treats it as Critically Endangered (CR).
Last updated
Gallery
Eurasian lynx in photos
Photo: Jan Ebr
Greater Caucasus ·
Photo: Carlos Delgado
Madrid Zoo ·
Photo: Wilfredo Rafael Rodriguez Hernandez
Alpenzoo Innsbruck ·
Photo: Böhringer Friedrich
Wildpark Feldkirch ·
Photo: Sillerkiil
Kõrvemaa ·
Identification
How to identify Eurasian lynx
A medium-sized cat with black ear tufts, a short black-tipped tail, long legs, and a spotted coat. It is the only lynx in Georgia.
- 01
At species level the body is about 90–120 cm and the tail 19–23 cm; males are about 25–30% heavier than females. Animals in the southern Caucasus and Anatolia are often lighter than northern populations. There is no separate measured Georgian series on this page. The ears have black tufts; the face has a flared ruff. The tail is short with a fully black tip.
- 02
Fur ranges from grey to reddish or yellowish; the belly and throat are pale. Spotting varies from fine dots to large spots or rosettes; some animals are almost unmarked. Southern populations often have stronger spotting. Winter fur is thicker. Large, furred paws help in snow.
- 03
No other lynx species occurs in Georgia. The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is absent. The Caucasian leopard is much larger, with a long tail and rosettes and without long ear tufts; this atlas has a leopard page. A wolf is slimmer and dog-like, with a long bushy tail. Wildcat and jungle cat are smaller and long-tailed — this atlas does not yet have separate pages for them.
- 04
It is not venomous. Do not approach. In forest or a semi-arid ravine, a round cat print without claw marks is more likely this species than a wolf. On a camera trap, individuals differ by spot pattern.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
At species level it is mainly tied to forest with cover and prey; it can also use more open, dry country if persecution is not severe. Bukhnikashvili and Kandaurov (2002) record isolated populations in western and eastern Georgia, in mountain and light forest and subalpine and alpine meadows; the same list cites 250–3000 m from an older Red Data Book. That belt does not fully cover later confirmed semi-arid lowlands. NACRES (2022) photographed lynx in Vashlovani and Chachuna in a relatively open semi-arid landscape with scattered trees and patches of dry woodland — not only high mountain forest. Askerov and co-authors (2020) name camera-trap material from Lagodekhi, Tusheti, Vashlovani, Borjomi-Kharagauli, Pshav-Khevsureti, Mtirala, and Kintrishi, and also outside protected areas. Those are named sites, not a complete regional map. This page includes a photograph from 26 April 2019 from the Greater Caucasus (Jan Ebr; iNaturalist, about 42.56° N, 44.71° E). Do not assume even density across the country, including settled lowlands. A full national elevation belt has not been re-measured on this page.
Diet
It is a carnivore. In northern and central Europe the main prey is often a small ungulate, especially roe deer. In Georgia’s eastern semi-arid zone NACRES (2022) writes that in Vashlovani it depends almost entirely on smaller prey — hare, pheasant, and chukar; poaching of those prey species is named as a main pressure. Soyumert and co-authors (2019) show hares as the main prey in similar western Asian habitat — that is an Anatolian camera-trap result, not a Georgian stomach analysis. At species level it also takes foxes, birds, wild boar, or domestic sheep and goats at times. There is no complete national diet study on this page.
Behavior
It is usually solitary and territorial. It hunts mainly at dusk and in the first half of the night; it can also appear by day, especially in the mating season. It stalks and ambushes prey. At species level mating is from February to early April, peaking in the second half of March; gestation is about 68–73 days; kittens are usually born in late May or early June, often 1–4, and stay with the female until about ten months. Those figures come from the wider range, not a Georgian den sample. Tracks are cat-like: round, usually without claw marks because the claws retract when walking; wolf tracks often show claws. Each animal has a unique spot pattern, so camera traps can count individuals. Calls are uncommon near people and more frequent in the mating season. No Georgian recording is on this page; the clip is xeno-canto XC626659 (Stanislas Wroza, La Tour-du-Meix, Jura, France, 26 February 2021).
Conservation
Breitenmoser and co-authors assess Lynx lynx as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (2015, errata 2017). Global status does not mean every local population is secure. In Georgia, Government Resolution No. 190 of 2014 lists the species as CR, criterion C2(aI), for a small, fragmented population. Hunting is not allowed. It is on CITES Appendix II and Bern Convention Appendix III. Georgia’s Fifth CBD National Report lists it as CR and notes that 2012 work in the semi-arid ecosystem suggested more individuals than expected. NACRES (2022) estimates 9–14 animals in Vashlovani (density 2.25–3.52 / 100 km²) and at least two in Chachuna; a minimum of about 11 in that semi-arid system — those two areas, not a national total. The 2012 Vashlovani estimate was similar (about 10); the authors treat that local population as relatively stable. Askerov and co-authors (2020) write that the species is fairly widespread in Caucasus forests, but there is no dedicated national census. Named pressures are poaching, prey decline, habitat fragmentation, and, in the semi-arid zone, unregulated grazing.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Eurasian lynx.
Yes. It is a native resident. It is on national mammal checklists and on the 2014 Red List as CR.
In forested mountains and in the eastern semi-arid zone, at low density. Named protected areas include Lagodekhi, Tusheti, Vashlovani, Borjomi-Kharagauli, Pshav-Khevsureti, Mtirala, and Kintrishi. This page includes a photograph from 26 April 2019 from the Greater Caucasus. A realistic encounter is often a camera-trap or a track, not a guaranteed trail sighting.
Black ear tufts, a short black-tipped tail, long legs, and a spotted coat. A leopard is much larger and long-tailed. A wolf is dog-like.
At species level the body is about 90–120 cm. Southern animals are often lighter than northern ones. A measured Georgian series is not on this page.
It is a carnivore. In forest the prey is often an ungulate, especially roe deer. In the Vashlovani semi-arid zone NACRES names hare, pheasant, and chukar as the main prey.
It is resident and does not migrate like many birds. It hunts mainly at dusk and at night. At species level mating is in late winter and early spring.
Rarely near people; more often in the mating season. The clip on this page is from France (xeno-canto XC626659); there is no Georgian recording here.
It is not venomous and usually avoids people. Do not approach, especially near kittens. Do not feed it.
In Georgia it is CR on the Red List; hunting is not allowed. Globally IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
- Breitenmoser et al. 2015 — IUCN Red List, Lynx lynx (errata 2017)
- IUCN Cat Specialist Group — Eurasian lynx
- Kitchener et al. 2017 — A revised taxonomy of the Felidae
- Lucena-Perez et al. 2021 — Mitogenome phylogeny of Lynx lynx
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- Bukhnikashvili & Kandaurov 2002 — The annotated list of mammals of Georgia
- Eliava et al. 2007 — New data on animal biodiversity of Georgia
- NACRES / CNF 2023 — Monitoring of Eurasian lynx in Vashlovani PAs (2022)
- Askerov et al. 2020 — Status of large carnivores in the Caucasus
- CBD Fifth National Report — Georgia
- SABUKO — Iori River Valley camera-trap survey
- Endangered Landscapes Programme — Lynx in south-east Georgia
- Soyumert et al. 2019 — Lagomorphs and Eurasian lynx in western Asia
- CITES Appendices — Lynx lynx
- ASM Mammal Diversity Database — Lynx lynx
- Wikimedia Commons — Caucasian lynx, Greater Caucasus (Jan Ebr, CC BY 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Eurasian lynx, Madrid Zoo (Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Eurasian lynx, Feldkirch (Böhringer Friedrich, CC BY-SA 2.5)
- Wikimedia Commons — Carpathian lynx portrait (Wilfredo R. Rodriguez Hernandez, CC0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Lynx tracks, Kõrvemaa (Sillerkiil, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- xeno-canto XC626659 — Lynx lynx (Stanislas Wroza, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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