Qilian Mountains National Park, located at the junction of Gansu and Qinghai, is one of the top ten national parks in my country. It covers a large area and is located on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. It has multiple ecosystems such as mountain forests, grasslands, and shrubs. , is one of the areas with the highest biodiversity in my country, with as many as 294 species of wild vertebrates.

The Qilian Mountains National Park was established to protect the biodiversity and the authenticity and integrity of the natural ecosystem in the Qilian Mountains. Here, you can see rare and rare animals, including snow leopards, white-lipped deer, blue sheep, red deer, desert cats, etc.

Staff at the Gansu Longchang River Protection Station of Qilian Mountain National Park recently discovered the lynx, a national second-level protected animal, during a patrol. On a hillside, people saw a huge lynx crawling in a small ravine, staring into the distance, as if it had discovered prey and was lurking and waiting for an opportunity.

The alert lynx soon discovered the patrol staff, and turned around to stare at humans warily. This allowed people to see its face more clearly, unlike common cats. Differently, the lynx has long drooping hair on its cheeks and tufts of hair on the tips of its ears.

The staff filmed this scene and posted it online. When many netizens saw it, they all said that this was not a "little wolf-slaying expert"!

Lynx is actually a general term. In a broad sense, it does not refer to a certain animal, but to a certain category. There are four species of animals in the genus Lynx of the family Felidae: Eurasian lynx, Iberian lynx, Canadian lynx and bobcat.

Among them, the Eurasian lynx is mainly distributed in the north of the Eurasian continent; the Iberian lynx lives in the Iberian Peninsula. Because its main distribution country is Spain, it is also called the Spanish lynx; and the Canadian lynx and bobcats both live in North America.

Lynx appearing in Qilian Mountain National Park,It can only be the Eurasian lynx. Unless otherwise specified, the lynx people refer to generally refers to the Eurasian lynx.

The Eurasian lynx is the largest of the four lynx species. It can grow to 18-30 kilograms as an adult, making it a medium-sized cat.

They have a stout body, long and strong limbs, but a very short tail. The hair on the body changes with the seasons. In summer, it is mainly reddish brown, and in winter, it turns silver gray or gray brown.

Among all modern cats, lynx are the most wolf-like in appearance, so they are also nicknamed "wolf cats" among the people. This is a fierce and fierce wild animal. Although it is small, it is extremely ferocious and very powerful. An adult male lynx can even hunt deer several times larger than itself.

Among the cats, only lions are considered to truly live in groups, while the rest are solitary species. Lynx is also a solitary cat. In the past, people made a clear distinction between living alone and living in groups, so that they thought that cats living alone were generally lonely and would only pair up for a short period of time during the estrus period. together.

However, as the research continued, people suddenly discovered that some animals that live alone seem to be far less lonely than people imagined.

After long-term research, zoologists from the Belarusian Academy of Sciences have discovered that Eurasian lynxes are not actually lonely. They have repeatedly observed male lynxes staying with female lynxes before the onset of estrus. And in the subsequent raising process, they also assumed responsibilities including but not limited to guarding and feeding.

In fact, the boundary between living alone and living in groups is very blurred. Eurasian lynx can live alone or in pairs. During the period from November 2016 to April 2017, Belarusian zoologists observed two adult lynxes frequently moving together in the Nalipoki Forest, but they were not in estrus at that time.

In addition, the traditional impression of solitary cats is that the male does not care about the process of raising young. However, zoologists have discovered that male lynxes will actively feed food during the raising period. , and assume the responsibility of guarding. Thanks to the guarding of male lynx, the survival rate of lynx cubs is very high, reaching 80%.

Why the lynx is called the "Little Wolf Slayer" mainly stems from the research conducted by zoologists of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences in the Nalipoki Forest.

UpAs mentioned above, male lynxes will assume the responsibility of guarding during the nurturing period. One of the most important points is to actively remove animals that pose a threat to the young lynxes in the province. Gray wolves are the main targets of lynxes.

Many people wonder how the little lynx deals with wolves? The European forest wolf in the Nalipoki Forest is a type of gray wolf, but it is smaller in size. Many individuals are not much larger than the Eurasian lynx.

In addition, when the warm season comes, there are abundant small mammals in the forest, and the foraging efficiency of lone wolves is higher than that of wolves. At this time, European forest wolves tend to move alone, and the number of lone wolves at that time Exceeding the number of wolves living in a pack gives the lynx an opportunity to take advantage.

Adult male lynx will find ways to ambush wolves. Pregnant female wolves, cubs, lone wolves, etc. are the targets of its sneak attacks. Lynx are smart, even male giant lynxes will not provoke wolves.

Lynxes are very ruthless in killing wolves. Studies have found that in forest patches where lynxes exist, the mortality rate of wolf pups remains high, reaching 40%-60%. In some areas where lynx are frequent, the mortality rate of wolf pups is as high as 90%.

Of course, wolves will also hunt lynx pups, but in a forest environment with many fallen trees, it is the home field of lynx, and with the protection of male lynx, wolf hunting has a negative impact on lynx pups. Did not cause significant impact.

Among the 13 species of cats in my country, although the number of lynxes is not as large as that of leopard cats, in recent years, as the ecology has gradually improved, their population has gradually increased. Related sightings Incidents are also occurring more frequently, which is good news.

But in the final analysis, they are ferocious beasts. Although they will not actively attack people, if they are provoked, it will be a different matter. So when we see lynxes, for our own safety and for animal protection, we try not to disturb them.