Trivia question for Oct-25-2011

Carter loves cats of all kinds so when he learned about this one, he knew he had to feature it in his trivia.  These guys have almost been hunted to extinction.  They also suffered greatly when disease wiped out vast numbers of rabbits, which are its principle prey.

It hunts mammals (including rodents and insectivores), birds, reptiles and amphibians at twilight. The local rabbit is its main prey (79.5-86.7%), with (5.9%) hares and rodents (3.2%) less common. A male requires one rabbit per day; a female bringing up cubs will eat three rabbits per day.  As the population of rabbits in its homeland has declined due to myxomatosis, these guys are often forced to attack young fallow deer, roe deer, mouflon, and ducks. They compete for prey with the red fox and the wildcat. It is solitary and hunts alone; it will stalk its prey or lie in wait for hours behind a bush or rock until the prey is sufficiently close to pounce in a few strides.

So here are Carter’s questions:  Tell us what this cute feline is and in which country is this species extinct?  Also, tell us which government considered these cats as pests and used to pay a bounty for every one that was shot?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations goes out to Jen Dowdy from Paducah, Kentucky for being the first to identify this cute cat. The cat we featured is the Iberian Lynx. The Iberian lynx, is a critically endangered species native to the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe. It is one of the most endangered cat species in the world. The species used to be classified as a subspecies of the Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx), but is now considered a separate species.

These cats are currently only found in Spain and Portugal and are extinct in France where they once roamed as well.  In the 1950s the Lynx was considered a pest, and the Spanish government used to pay a bounty for every Lynx that was shot.  The Lynx population in Portugal probably numbers only 50.  Here is more on these rare cats: Iberian Lynx

Thanks for playing along 😉