• Polski
  • Czeski
  • Słowacki
  • Angielski
Pracownia na rzecz Wszystkich Istot

Protection of large carnivores

Spatial distribution

Adult lynxes have territories (home ranges) which they maintained by scent-marking in a well-exposed spots. Lynxes do not actively defend their territories.

Telemetry studies conducted in Poland indicates that the mean lynx territory in the Białowieża Forest is 250 km2 (males) and 133 km2 (females) and in the Polish Carpathians it varies between 164 and 199 km2 (2 males) and 124 – 190 km2 (2 females) (Jędrzejewski et al. 1996, 1999, 2002c, Schmidt et al. 1997, Okarma et al. 2007). Lynxes’ territories tend to overlap which is related to factors such as sex, population density and genetic relationship. Male’s territories are bigger than female’s and may overlap with territories of several females which increases male’s reproductive success. There is a correlation between the size of female territory and the availability of food which impacts kittens’ survival (Schmidt et al. 1997).