>My arithmetic's more with Mikko on this one: a median-sized one is about
>the size of a large lynx; smaller ones are bobcat sized, or smaller, and
>larger ones are [terrestrial analogue error]-sized. All on the RQ
>numbers of course, which could have been 'mis-thought', of course.
According to the data at Animal Diversity Web (an excellent reference site for animals) : http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/index.html
"Lynx are strictly carnivores, feeding on small mammals and ground-dwelling
birds such as roe deer, chamoix, hares, woodchucks, foxes, and squirrels.
As is true of all cats, hunting is the most important activity of the day
for a lynx.
They are skilled and patient hunters whose lives depend on finding
sufficient
prey. Since they can only run fast for a short distance, the lynx must
surprise its
prey. Keeping low to the ground, the lynx attacks these unsuspecting animals
from a close range. Once it catches the small mammal, it bites the neck,
cutting
its spinal cord. If the animal is too large, the lynx merely holds the
throat of the
animal until it suffocates. Its razor-sharp teeth cut through the flesh,
making
eating simple. The prey, being too much for one meal, is covered and left
until
hunger surfaces again. "
b) Canadian Lynx : Mass: 5 to 17 kg.
"Head-body length is between 800 and 1,000 mm and tail length ranges from 51 to 138 mm. "
"Canadian lynx are strictly carnivores. The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus)
is
of particular importance in the diet, and populations of the two are known
to
fluctuate in linked cycles with periods of about 9.6 years and a slight lag
between
hare and lynx populations. Although in some areas, such as Cape Breton
Island,
lynx prey exclusively on the hares, in other areas they also take rodents,
birds
and fish. In the fall and winter lynx will kill and eat deer and other large
ugulates
that are weakened by the rutting season and will also utilize carcasses left
by
human hunters."
(I'm not sure what they mean by other large ungulates since the only
candidates
would be cattle, moose, elk or bison. All of which really boggle the mind.
The
other advantage they have of course are their large paws which let them move
over the top of the snow while the struggling and maybe starving deer is
trying to
wade through it. All they would have to do is to grab them by the throat
and
suffocate them. Of course a small adult whitetail is around 57 kg.)
"c) Bobcat : Mass: 4 to 15 kg. Head and body length 65 - 105 cm, tail
length
11 - 19 cm (bobcats got their name because of their short tails).
Shoulder height 45 - 58 cm"
"Bobcats are strictly meat eaters. Stealthy hunters, they stalk their prey,
then
pounce and (if successful) kill with a bite to the vertebrae of the neck.
They hunt
rodents, rabbits, small ungulates, large ground birds, and sometimes
reptiles.
They occasionally eat small domesticated animals and poultry."
>I've seen claims that large lynx can 'occassionally'
>kill deer, which is a little mind-boggling, but I know not for certain
>otherwise. (I assume newborn or distinctly scraggy specimens if so.)
>While I can't keep track of Glorantha deer without a programme these
>days, I reckon a large alynx would be able to kill a smallish deer if
>so inclined, and lamb would be pretty easy meat, really.
See my notes above under the Canadian Lynx.
The Jaguarundi, a 4 to 9 kg tropical cat is said to eat small deer as well. Of course tropical deer can be pretty small.
Of course alynxes aren't lynxes. In fact despite the name I've never
pictured
them as looking like lynxes which are pretty atypical for cats. Do they
look
more like wild cats?
Oliver D. Bernuetz
www.geocities.com/bernuetz
bernuetz.oliver_at_cbsc.ic.gc.ca
End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #434
Powered by hypermail