Wild Cats of Canada

A list of wild cats of Canada and links to more information. The distribution of three of the world's wild cat species include the country of Canada:

1. Puma
2. Canada lynx
3. Bobcat

You would have thought that there might have been more. Of these three the puma is probably the most interesting in that this wild cat is also found in South America an entirely different and contrasting environment. The puma has the widest geographic range of any terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere¹. The puma is highly adaptable. The puma has many names, causing a bit of confusion. "Cougar" is perhaps the most common or mountain lion". "Puma" is arguably more accurate as it is part of its full scientific name: Puma concolor. Both "cougar" and "puma" have been adopted by people; "cougar" refers to a predatory older female human! And if you Google search for "puma", at the top of the results is the well known sports manufacturer.

The Canada lynx is about one half the size of its European counterpart, the Eurasian lynx. This is because the Canada lynx has specialised in feeding on the snowshoe, small sized prey. The Canada lynx weighs about 8-11 kgs.

The bobcat is mainly distributed throughout the United States but its range creeps north into Canada. The bobcat is a medium sized wildcat with desirable fur that feeds on hares, rabbit and deer or beaver depending on availability of prey.

See and read more by starting on this page: wild cat species.

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Wild Cats of the World (ISBN-13: 978-0-226-77999-7) - page 254.