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Why are snowshoe hares important to the Lynx?

Why are snowshoe hares important to the Lynx?

Not only are lynx faced with reduced amount and quality of habitat in the future – but their primary prey, the snowshoe hare, may also be challenged by climate change. Lynx are specialized hunters that focus almost entirely on snowshoe hares – in fact, lynx can only sustain populations where there are adequate snowshoe hare populations.

Is the Canada lynx on a downward spiral?

Of course, as far as the Canada lynx is concerned, the more hares the better. Unfortunately, that ultimately translates into more stress for hares and a downward spiral in their populations. It’s a roller coaster of a cycle, but the lynx seems content riding its ups and down.

What was the rise and fall of the snowshoe hare?

The rise and fall in numbers of snowshoe hares and Canada lynx was observed more than two hundred years ago by trappers working for Hudson’s Bay Company, which was once heavily involved in the fur trade. In the early 20th century, records of the number of lynx and hare pelts traded by Hudson’s Bay were analyzed by biologist Charles Gordon Hewitt.

When did Hudson’s Bay start trading lynx pelts?

In the early 20th century, records of the number of lynx and hare pelts traded by Hudson’s Bay were analyzed by biologist Charles Gordon Hewitt. In The Conservation of the Wild Life of Canada (1921), Hewitt graphed the data from the records for a period extending from 1820 into the first decades of the 1900s.

Why did the Canada lynx and snowshoe hare fall?

The Rise and Fall of the Canada Lynx and Snowshoe Hare. Proposed causes have ranged from disease to predation to constraints in food supply. The most significant factor driving fluctuations in snowshoe hare populations, however, appears to be simply exposure to stress, whether in the form of predation, disease, or scarcity of food.

The rise and fall in numbers of snowshoe hares and Canada lynx was observed more than two hundred years ago by trappers working for Hudson’s Bay Company, which was once heavily involved in the fur trade. In the early 20th century, records of the number of lynx and hare pelts traded by Hudson’s Bay were analyzed by biologist Charles Gordon Hewitt.

Of course, as far as the Canada lynx is concerned, the more hares the better. Unfortunately, that ultimately translates into more stress for hares and a downward spiral in their populations. It’s a roller coaster of a cycle, but the lynx seems content riding its ups and down.

In the early 20th century, records of the number of lynx and hare pelts traded by Hudson’s Bay were analyzed by biologist Charles Gordon Hewitt. In The Conservation of the Wild Life of Canada (1921), Hewitt graphed the data from the records for a period extending from 1820 into the first decades of the 1900s.