Trivia question for Feb-05-2011

I am taking Olivia to her first Father Daughter Dance tonight so we are posting the trivia a little earlier than usual.  She does not know yet that she is going and we used the excuse that family members have been asking for formal pictures of the kids to explain why we bought her a formal dress etc.  She is going to be so excited 😉  Anyway, on with the trivia;

Carter’s affection for the feline species is apparent again tonight as he picked out his trivia subject:  This magnificent looking cat has the ability to jump 7-feet into the air from a seated position in an effort to catch game-birds in flight.  In the 19th century, this species was wiped out from most of Europe due to hunting for its fur and because it preyed on game and domestic animals.

Hunting of this species is still permitted in Canada where they continue to be exploited for their fur and for “sport” so that they are rapidly disappearing from parts of their range.  Fewer than 800 survive in the lower 48 states of the US; but, after a long wait, this rare, precious and beautiful animal is finally being recognized for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

So here’s our questions:  Can you tell us what kind of cat this is and also tell us what the tuffs of long hair on its ears are speculated to be used for?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations are in order for Gina who was the first with the correct answer.  This is a Lynx and some speculate that the tuft of hair on their ears may help them identify other members of its species while others claim it somehow helps their hearing.

The large body-color varies from medium brown to gold-ish to beige-white; and occasionally, is marked with dark brown spots, especially on the limbs.   All species of lynx also have white fur on their chests, bellies and on the insides of their legs, which are extensions of the chest and belly fur.

They have extremely good hearing and have 28 teeth, which stab deeply into their prey.  This can be especially helpful to the lynx because they are not the most efficient hunters and they lose most of their prey to a variety of factors.

The smallest species are the bobcat and the Canada lynx, while the largest is the Eurasian lynx, however there are considerable variations within species.

Here is more on these grand looking cats: Lynx

Thanks for playing along 😉