Behavioral responses of lynx to declining snowshoe hare abundance

Lynx (Lynx canadensis) exhibit significant behavioral changes in response to declining snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) abundance, particularly below 0.5 hares per hectare, where they abandon established home ranges and adopt nomadic behavior. Research conducted between 1982 and 1984 in the Kluane Game Sanctuary, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek, revealed that lynx increase their foraging effort curvilinearly with decreasing hare abundance, traveling up to 5.5 km per day when hare density drops below 0.2 hares per hectare. Notably, three lynx dispersed over 250 km from the study area during periods of rapid hare decline, a pattern not observed after hare densities stabilized. The study also highlighted the importance of wilderness refugia in maintaining lynx populations, as trapping mortality outside protected areas was high, with one lynx likely succumbing to starvation.

Ward, R. M. P. (2010). Behavioral responses of lynx to declining snowshoe hare abundance. University of British Columbia. https://doi.org/10.14288/1.0096233