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28-639: Wildlife in the park includes the Felis lybica sarda (also known as Sardinian wildcat ), the mouflon , the marten , the weasel , the edible dormouse , the garden dormouse , the Sardinian fox , the griffon vulture , the golden eagle , the Bonelli's eagle , the peregrine falcon , the great spotted woodpecker , the butterfly Corsican swallowtail . Marine mammals include the Mediterranean monk seal ,

56-520: A protected area in Europe is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Felis lybica sarda The Sardinian wildcat (or, less commonly, the Sardinian lynx ) is an isolated population of feral cats ( Felis catus ) on the island of Sardinia , introduced during the Roman Empire. It has historically been misidentified as a species of lynx or a subspecies of wildcat . Under

84-459: A shoulder height of 35 cm (14 in). Their long and dense fur was fulvous on the back and whitish on the belly. He considered them to be a crossing of a lynx and a domestic cat . Lynx A lynx ( / l ɪ ŋ k s / links ; pl. : lynx or lynxes ) is any of the four extant species (the Canada ;lynx , Iberian lynx , Eurasian lynx and

112-571: A thick coat and broad paws, and is twice as effective as the bobcat at supporting its weight on the snow. The Canada lynx feeds almost exclusively on snowshoe hares ; its population is highly dependent on the population of this prey animal. It will also hunt medium-sized mammals and birds if hare numbers fall. The Iberian lynx ( Lynx pardinus ) is a vulnerable species native to the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe . It

140-412: A wide range of animals from white-tailed deer , reindeer , roe deer , small red deer , and chamois , to smaller, more usual prey: snowshoe hares , fish , foxes , sheep , squirrels , mice , turkeys and other birds , and goats . It also eats ptarmigans , voles , and grouse . The lynx inhabits high altitude forests with dense cover of shrubs, reeds, and tall grass. Although this cat hunts on

168-479: Is an adaptable predator that inhabits deciduous , coniferous , or mixed woodlands, but unlike other Lynx , does not depend exclusively on the deep forest, and ranges from swamps and desert lands to mountainous and agricultural areas, its spotted coat serving as camouflage. The population of the bobcat depends primarily on the population of its prey. Nonetheless, the bobcat is often killed by larger predators such as coyotes . The bobcat resembles other species of

196-477: Is an opportunistic predator much like its cousins. The Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis ), or Canadian lynx, is a North American felid that ranges in forest and tundra regions across Canada and into Alaska , as well as some parts of the northern United States . Historically, the Canadian lynx ranged from Alaska across Canada and into many of the northern U.S. states . In the eastern states, it resided in

224-528: Is now northern China during the Early Pleistocene. Of the four lynx species, the Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) is the largest in size. It is native to European, Central Asian , and Siberian forests. While its conservation status has been classified as " least concern ", populations of Eurasian lynx have been reduced or extirpated from much of Europe, where it is now being reintroduced. During

252-467: The Pleistocene epoch, being separated by habitat choice. The Iberian lynx is believed to have evolved from Lynx issiodorensis . The bobcat ( Lynx rufus ) is a North American wild cat. With 13 recognized subspecies, the bobcat is common throughout southern Canada, the continental United States , and northern Mexico. Like the Eurasian lynx, its conservation status is "least concern." The bobcat

280-630: The bobcat ) within the medium-sized wild cat genus Lynx . The name originated in Middle English via Latin from the Greek word lynx ( λύγξ ), derived from the Indo-European root *leuk- ( ' light ' , ' brightness ' ), in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes . Lynx have a short tail, characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears, large, padded paws for walking on snow and long whiskers on

308-579: The fin whale , sperm whale , and various smaller whales and dolphins . The park lies in the provinces of Nuoro and Ogliastra . The highest mountain in Sardinia, Punta La Marmora , in the Gennargentu mountain range is within the boundaries of the National Park. This Sardinia location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to

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336-659: The 1970s have been successful in various regions of Switzerland . Since the 1990s, there have been numerous efforts to resettle the Eurasian lynx in Germany , and since 2000, a small population can now be found in the Harz mountains near Bad Lauterberg . The lynx is found in the Białowieża Forest in northeastern Poland , and in the northern and western parts of China, particularly the Tibetan Plateau . In Romania ,

364-589: The African wildcat, was also used in one paper. Results of zooarchaeological research indicate that Sardinian wild cats descended from domestic cats that were introduced around the beginning of the first millennium during the Roman Empire , and probably originated in the Near East . Mola described the body length of these specimens as 50 cm (20 in) with a 25 cm (9.8 in) long tail and

392-551: The Slovenian Alps and the Croatian regions of Gorski Kotar and Velebit, including Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park and Risnjak National Park . In both countries, the lynx is listed as an endangered species and protected by law. The lynx was distributed throughout Japan during Jōmon period ; with no paleontological evidence thereafter suggesting extinction at that time. Several lynx resettlement projects begun in

420-644: The climate in their range. In the Southwestern United States , they are short-haired, dark in colour and their paws are smaller and less padded. In colder northern climates lynx have thicker and lighter fur as well as larger and more padded paws that are well-adapted to snow. The smallest species are the bobcat and the Canada lynx , while the largest is the Eurasian lynx , with considerable variations within species. The four living species of

448-479: The face. Under their neck, they have a ruff, which has black bars resembling a bow tie , although this is often not visible. Body colour varies from medium brown to goldish to beige-white, and is occasionally marked with dark brown spots, especially on the limbs. All species of lynx have white fur on their chests, bellies and on the insides of their legs, fur which is an extension of the chest and belly fur. The lynx's colouring, fur length and paw size vary according to

476-434: The genus Lynx are believed to have evolved from Lynx issiodorensis , which lived in Europe and Africa during the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene . The Pliocene felid Felis rexroadensis from North America has been proposed as an even earlier ancestor; however, this was larger than any living species, and is not currently classified as a true lynx. Another extinct species of Lynx , L. shansiensis , inhabited what

504-425: The genus Lynx , but is on average the smallest of the four. Its coat is variable, though generally tan to grayish brown, with black streaks on the body and dark bars on the forelegs and tail. The ears are black-tipped and pointed, with short, black tufts. There is generally an off-white color on the lips, chin, and underparts. Bobcats in the desert regions of the southwest have the lightest-colored coats, while those in

532-550: The ground, it can climb trees and can swim swiftly, catching fish. The Eurasian lynx ranges from central and northern Europe across Asia up to Northern Pakistan and India . In Iran , they live in Mount Damavand area. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Eurasian lynx was considered extinct in the wild in Slovenia and Croatia . A resettlement project, begun in 1973, has successfully reintroduced lynx to

560-573: The mountain range. The lynx population in Finland was 1900–2100 individuals in 2008, and the numbers have been increasing every year since 1992. The lynx population in Finland is estimated currently to be larger than ever before. Lynx in Britain were wiped out in the 17th century, but there have been calls to reintroduce them to curb the numbers of deer . The endangered Iberian lynx lives in southern Spain and formerly in eastern Portugal . There

588-401: The name Felis lybica sarda , it is locally protected as a rare species. The population was first described as a wildcat as Felis libyca sarda by Fernand Lataste in 1885, based on the skin and skull of a male cat from Sarrabus in Sardinia, which he wrote resembled an African wildcat but more reddish, grey, and brown, and with longer hairs on the back. Another name, Felis mediterranea ,

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616-519: The northern, forested regions have the darkest. The lynx is usually solitary, although a small group of lynx may travel and hunt together occasionally. Mating takes place in the late winter and once a year the female gives birth to between one and four kittens. The gestation time of the lynx is about 70 days. The young stay with the mother for one more winter, a total of around nine months, before moving out to live on their own as young adults. The lynx creates its den in crevices or under ledges. It feeds on

644-488: The numbers exceed 2,000, the largest population in Europe outside of Russia , although most experts consider the official population numbers to be overestimated. The lynx is more common in northern Europe, especially in Norway , Sweden , Estonia , Finland , and the northern parts of Russia . The Swedish population is estimated to be 1200–1500 individuals, spread all over the country, but more common in middle Sweden and in

672-403: The summer, the Eurasian lynx has a relatively short, reddish or brown coat which is replaced by a much thicker silver-grey to greyish-brown coat during winter. The lynx hunts by stalking and jumping on its prey, helped by the rugged, forested country in which it resides. A favorite prey for the lynx in its woodland habitat is roe deer . It will feed however on whatever animal appears easiest, as it

700-516: The transition zone in which boreal coniferous forests yielded to deciduous forests. By 2010, after an 11-year effort, it had been successfully reintroduced into Colorado , where it had become extirpated in the 1970s. In 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the Canada lynx a threatened species in the lower 48 states . The Canada lynx is a good climber and swimmer; it constructs rough shelters under fallen trees or rock ledges. It has

728-544: The zoological collection of the University of Sassari . These specimens were reassessed in 1911 by Alessandro Ghigi who identified them as Sardinian wildcats. Gighi's assessment was corroborated in 1981 by an Italian biologist who examined the still available mounted specimen initially described by Mola. Following taxonomic changes around Felis lybica , an updated name is Felis lybica sarda . The term Felis silvestris lybica var. sarda , using an outdated name for

756-511: Was also proposed for wildcats from Sardinia in 1896. In 1910 it was reclassified as Felis ocreate sarda , while in 1912 it was considered a full species Felis sarda by Miller. The Sardinian lynx with the scientific name Lynx lynx sardiniae was proposed by the Italian biologist Pasquale Mola in 1908 for two zoological specimens of a cat from Nuoro in Sardinia that were part of

784-476: Was the most endangered cat species in the world, but conservation efforts have changed its status from critical to endangered to vulnerable. The loss of the species would have been the first feline extinction since the Smilodon 10,000 years ago. The species used to be classified as a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx, but is now considered a separate species. Both species occurred together in central Europe in

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