Caturday felids: Lynx with huge paws, and purloining moggie

March 29, 2014 • 4:42 am

I know someone is going to say the image below is Photoshopped (that’s Coyne’s Second Rule of Blo**ing), but it isn’t. It’s just a very large wild cat, and the way it’s being held makes it look bigger.

Reader Don sent this photo of a Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), one of the four species in the genus Lynx; the other three are the Eurasian Lynx (L. lynx), the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus, the most endangered cat species in the world ) and the bobcat (Lynx rufus).

As Don writes:

This photo was taken March 29, 2005. There were no native lynx remaining in Colorado at the time of this program and the program was successful in establishing a population there. Its size is typical.

1964816_10151961078400658_1
Photo: ©2005 Amy Toensing

The photo above and description below come from Amy Toensing’s website:

Lynx reintroduction

DEL NORTE, CO- MARCH 29: Photographer Amy Toensing holds a lynx that is to be reintroduced to the Southern Colorado wilderness March 29, 2005 in Del Norte, CO. The holding facility behind Toensing held 23 lynx that were looked over by a CDOW vet, 18 of which were collared and released that week. In 1999 the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) began a lynx reintroduction program, trapping the animals in Canada and bringing them to Colorado. The goal is to re-establish the lynx population in the state, which has been nonexistent since the 1970s, to a viable level where the population that can sustain itself. The program has brought in 204 lynx between 1999 and 2005. There have been 71 known deaths, and 101 kittens born. The program is considered widely as a success, however the program has also instigated controversy protests from animal rights groups and developers. (Photo by Amy Toensing).

Well, how big do these things get? According to the Feline Conservation Foundation, here are sizes for male and female lynx:

Adult males weight: average 22-31 lb (10-14 kg)
Adult females weight: average 18-24 lb (8-11 kg)
Length: 3 feet
Height: 2 feet

That’s a big cat! Their huge paws act as snowshoes, enabling them to move about the snow to chase their favorite prey, showshoe hare, and the feet are also insulated (and made bigger) because they’re extremely  furry. Wouldn’t you like to be Amy in that picture above, holding that large, cute thing? It must have been anesthetized; wild cats don’t let themselves get fusses.

Here’s its range, taken from Wikipedia, a range that closely matches that of the snowshoe hare that Canada lynx love to nom. The cat populations have been severely reduced by trapping, and they almost were extinct in the U.S.

Canada_Lynx_area

See Amy Toensing’s webpage for more information and many of her photographs

***

As lagniappe, from Rocket 24 we find that a cat in Japan is wanted for stealing cat food from a 7-Eleven (I didn’t know they had those outside the U.S.). And it has a wanted poster:

top6

The description from the site:

Just look at the kitty pictured above. Cute lil’ guy doncha think?

Wrong! That pilfering feline has stolen hundreds of yen worth of cat food from a helpless major convenience store… possibly to sell on the street for crack-cocaine.

The following notice at a Kanto area 7-Eleven has been retweeted by over 17,000 defenders of justice looking to stop this menace.

Bh9ucZgCAAEcZE5

I know there are some Japanese-speaking readers here; can you translate the above, plz?

______

UPDATE: Reader Steven in Tokyo has proffered a translation in the comments, which is hilarious:

A tentative translation. It’s hard to tell whether there’s only one cat, or a plurality of them, one of which is the culprit. The final phrase is very useful in Japanese (I use it all the time), but I’ve no idea how to translate it. Perhaps something like “Please do whatever might be suitable in the circumstances.”

A (polite) request.

Please don’t feed the cat. It comes into the store and shoplifts the cat food. We forbade Mr. Cat from coming into the store, but he won’t obey us. [He gets the designation for familiar males, namely “-kun” (“neko-kun”).]

Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.

45 thoughts on “Caturday felids: Lynx with huge paws, and purloining moggie”

  1. That Lynx canadensis is the absolute Cat’s Meow. She is the Loveliest !

    Soooo in the other areas specifically inside the USA (Washington State, upper Wisconsin, Maine), are the populations in these other states also increasing ? In these other states, are its existences there now considered, too, a success ? About a decade’s length of time this specific Federation has been trying to help this particular species inside the USA ?

    my my … … my my my, O, that furry beastie !

    Blue

    1. We have a few lynx in northern and central Vermont. I’ve seen a lynx twice, both times crossing in front of the car on a back road. From here their reach extends across northern New Hampshire and Maine on up into Canada. Their population tends to follow the snowshoe hare, which, in recent years, have been plentiful here. Red squirrels, too–so we’re also seeing more marten.

  2. A tentative translation. It’s hard to tell whether there’s only one cat, or a plurality of them, one of which is the culprit. The final phrase is very useful in Japanese (I use it all the time), but I’ve no idea how to translate it. Perhaps something like “Please do whatever might be suitable in the circumstances.”

    A (polite) request
    Please don’t feed the cat. It comes into the store and shoplifts the cat food. We forbade it from coming into the store, but it won’t listen. Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.

    1. By the way, there are 7-Elevens all over Japan. There’s one within 30 seconds’ walk of the back entrance to my apartment building. Very convenient. Totemo benri desu yo.

      1. Sorry, perhaps I should have translated the third sentence a little differently:
        We forbade Mr. Cat from coming into the store, but he won’t obey us.
        He gets the designation for familiar males, namely “-kun” (“neko-kun”).

    2. I agree with Steven in the translation. Poor 7-11.
      Feed that cat!
      Besides, what cat would be smart enough to hijack a sealed food container unless G*d told her so.

      Derek

  3. We were in Japan in mid-February on a birding trip that went to Honshu, Kyushu and Hokkaido. Seven-Elevens were frequent lunch stops for the group for, as was mentioned before, they’re everywhere. Food surprisingly good, especially the Meiji Dark Chocolate, but, alas, no Slurpees.

  4. I saw that first lynx pic a few weeks ago on Facebook & I couldn’t track the source other than it was probably a rehabilitation centre. If I had a job where I had to tag furry animals, I would kiss them and cuddle them when they were asleep! 🙂

  5. One of our cats was pushing the 10kg barrier for a while, he is now on a diet.

    In fact I can hear him now trying to convince his other servant that it’s time for more food.

  6. Well, it looks like the Colorado Department of Wildlife is well on its way to restoring the missing lynx.

  9. That lynx is huge! None of the bobkitties I’ve ever heard of in the Sonoran Desert get anywhere near that big; she’s well into puma sizes. Here, the largest of the housecats and the smallest of the lynxen are about the same size. And, of course, their coats are sandy colored and short, not snowy colored and thick.

    She is, of course, quite adorable. Looks like she’d make the perfect comforter for a Colorado winter’s night.

    b&

    1. Yeah, bobcats aren’t anywhere close to the size of a lynx. I saw one in a zoo one time and couldn’t believe how big it was- I’ve seen smaller pumas.

      1. At the Phoenix Zoo, the bobcat and puma exhibits are maybe 50′ apart. The pumas are human-sized; the bobcats could almost be mistraken for housecats.

        Of all the cats at the Phoenix Zoo, only the pumas give off a friendly enough vibe that I could see interacting with them. Curiously, given the physical proximity the bobcats seem to be the most pissed-off of the cats. I have no idea if I’m just imagining things, or, if not, if it has more to do with the individual cats’s personalities or the temperaments of the species.

        b&

        1. Bobcats are fairly common here in Vermont. My wife and I often see tracks on our x-c ski loop. Locals frequently post pictures. They’ll saunter into dooryards and down the roadways–maybe half again the size of a housecat and huskier looking. A lynx is at least twice the size of a bobcat with a bigger head and longer hindlegs–looks like a feline drag-racer. But lynx hunt mostly at night, so they’re a rare sight.

  10. That lynx must make tracks in pawder snow.

    a 7-Eleven (I didn’t know they had those outside the U.S.).

    I learn from the swedish Wikipedia that the first shops were established over here in the 80’s.

    It also describes it as the worlds largest convenience store chain with more than 50 000 shops and main office in – Tokyo.

    1. Wikipedia also says that Japan has the most stores, then the US and thirdly Thailand.
      In Bangkok it seems that every third shop is a 7-Eleven or the equivalent.
      They are great as they sell weird foodstuffs that I have never seen anywhere else and they sell alcohol too.
      Most general stores in Thailand also sell alcohol but only between 11am to 2pm and then after. 5pm.
      I have never really understood why that is though. I have heard it was to cut down on drink-driving but I can’t see how that could be.
      It seems that they don’t have liquor licensing laws there which could be one reason they have on of the highest road fatality rates in the world with an estimated more than 50% alcohol related.
      When I was on one of the east coast Islands I saw a young western guy riding a motorbike in things, no helmet and a bag of beer hanging off the handlebars. A car backed out in front of him and he was very lucky to have not hit it. The beer didn’t survive though. 🙂

      2. I also saw a 7-11 store in Amsterdam. The selection was similar to that of an American branch, but with higher prices of course.

    2. 7-11 was, as I understand it, originally a US company. But now, AIIU, it’s Japanese.
      There are many Japanese 7-11 stores; and for the foreign visitor they offer, among other things: an ATM that handles foreign debit/ATM cards, and reasonably cheap sandwiches and other convenience food.

      1. Yes, I’d heard that as well, and wikipedia confirms that 7-Eleven is now a Japanese company. They also say 7-Eleven has more stores than even McDonald’s.

        The convenience food in Japanese 7-Elevens is great, especially the cold noodle dishes.

        1. Sandwiches are indeed OK, at least of May 2013. Other than for breakfast, I’m a big fan of the ekiben, wherever you may encounter it.

          1. “as I understand it” should be “AIUI”, not “AIIU”. Wouldn’t it have been easier just to say what you meant instead of trying to look internet hip and wasting time and messages?

          4. Rudeness? I’m just asking someone to say what he means. That’s called c-o-m-m-u-n-i-c-a-t-i-o-n.

  13. 7-11s are everywhere in Taiwan, too- you can pay your utility bills, pick up train tickets, and they have a great parcel-shipping system- and of course buy alcohol 27/7.
    They are always referred to in Chinese just as “seven” (English pronunciation).
    I believe the highest concentration of 7-11s is/was in Hong Kong, though they tend to be very small.

  15. I’ve only seen one lynx in the wild, but that was memorable – in the headlights of our vehicle as we were doing a night amphibian acoustic survey in the sub-boreal forest way, way north of Edmonton. It was like a big housecat – poking through the long grass, and making two-handed swipes at mice. Didn’t seem bothered by us of the truck.
    The Iberian lynx is worth a look – sinewy, elegant, lean, smartly bearded – it looks as though it just leapt down (lightly, with perfect control) from some heraldic device. I like our Canada lynxes, but look at that guy in the photo – he looks as though he’s wearing his big brother’s snowsuit.

Comments are closed.