It looks likely that lynx will be re-introduced to England

The Eurasian lynx was exterminated from the UK in the Middle Ages about 1300 years ago. It was over-hunted to extinction. We have a moral duty to right that wrong although farmers do not want to see the lynx reintroduced into England or Scotland, for that matter, because they think this handsome wild cat will attack and eat their sheep. Despite the resistance from farmers, there is talk, again, of wolves and lynx being reintroduced into the UK because the project is being backed by the new head of Natural England, Tony Juniper. 

He became chairman of the organisation last year and is much more of a supporter of rewilding than his predecessor. Between wolves and lynx, he said that it is more likely that the lynx will be reintroduced into England at Thetford Forest which straddles the Norfolk-Suffolk border.

Mr Juniper said that he wanted to build on the success of the reintroduction of beavers in Devon and white-tailed Eagles on the Isle of Wight. In November 2018 Michael Gove the then environment secretary rejected an application for the reintroduction of lynx because at that time Natural England objected to it. But things have changed and Mr Juniper wants to study the feasibility of the project partly because it would help to control deer numbers. One of the prey animals of the Eurasian lynx is the deer although it is at the top end of the scale for size.

I've described this cat as the "Eurasian lynx" because I have to, I believe. I'm being more specific because often people refer to it as the "lynx" without specifying the subspecies. The Eurasian lynx is the largest of the three linked species: Canada lynx, Iberian lynx and Eurasian lynx. The bobcat is also within this family of cats. They are medium-sized cats. They aren't that large.

Another reason why there's more optimism about the project is the success in the Netherlands where wolves have crossed the border from Germany, taking up residence in Holland with minimal impact on people and farmers. The Netherlands is also a highly populated country like the UK and therefore there are bound to be concerns about medium-sized predators roaming around the wild freely but it works.

Another place where either or both wolves and lynx might be reduced is the Kielder Forest in Scotland. It would be a wonderful addition to the UK to have a genuine wild species of a decent size in the countryside. I can see tourism in Thetford Forest to see the lynx. Something like tourists visiting tiger reserves in India.

Domestic Cat Supports Wild Cat in Prison (zoo enclosure) - Feline Solidarity!

I love this. The stray calico cat wandered into the lynx enclosure at St. Petersburg Zoo and made buddies instantly. Then they engaged in mutual grooming. It is like the domestic cat wanted to support his wild cat friend because he is in prison. I wish the domestic cat could have got him out. Why can't he take the lynx back the way he came in?!

This is probably a Eurasian lynx.

Is the bobcat a lynx?

Yes, the bobcat is part of the genus lynx. There are four cats that are part of this genus:

1. Lynx lynx - Eurasian lynx
   
2. Lynx canadensis - Canada lynx
   
3. Lynx pardinus - Iberian lynx
   
4. Lynx rufus - the bobcat

They all look like a lynx, which is helpful. It is the name that misleads as the three cats other than the bobcat have "lynx" in their name, whereas the bobcat does not.

The full classification for the bobcat is as follows: Kingdom: Animalia - Phylum: Chordata - Class: Mammalia - Order: Carnivora - Family: Felidae - Genus: Lynx - Species: L. rufus.

The group called "genus" is low in the taxonomic ranking. Classification of species is simply organising species in much the same way you organize files. The difference is that scientists use latin terminology, which is a throwback to the 1500s and before when scientists first classified the species.

Bobcat Picture

This is a camera trap bobcat picture from siwild on Flickr. This sort of wildcat picture is not pretty in the conventional sense. This is because the camera trap camera is less sophisticated in terms of its ability to create high image quality. However, being motion activated it captures the kind of image that you don't get with human operated cameras. They are wilder, more real. You get a real sense of what it is like in the wild for the wild cats.

Bobcat Picture - in the wild - camera trap image - by siwild - see it on Smithsonian Wild

I have improved the image quality slightly although there has been no adjustment to the content.

You can see the moon above the bobcat. This bobcat picture was taken in the state of Virginia, USA. The words on the lower RHS of the photograph is the name of the manufacturer of the camera.

The bobcat is the most common wildcat in the USA. It occupies areas in the east of the US from where the puma (cougar) has been removed or extirpated. The bobcat is part of the lynx genus. In Canada the Canada lynx is that country's version of the bobcat. The Eurasian lynx is the biggest of the lynx cats.

How Fast are Eurasian Lynx?

How fast are Eurasian lynx? The domestic cat can run at a top speed of about 30 mph. The lion can run at 40 mph over a short distance. The cheetah is the fastest as we know at about a top speed of 64 mph over a short distance - see Cheetah Speed to see why this figure is not the usual 70 mph.

Picture in the public domain.

The Eurasian lynx is a great jumper with powerful legs. Her size is more than 5 times (at about 60 lbs - male) that of the domestic cat (about 7-11 lbs). I can't find an actual figure (at the time of posting which is 2009) but my guess is that this cat can run at about 35-40 mph top speed for a relatively short distance. Wikipedia say this cat is not very fast but that is relative. 

One site says 'up to 50 mph'. Note the 'up to'. I think they support my assessment.