Q 01/05

The wide, furry paws of the Canada lynx are often compared to which piece of winter gear?

A) Ice skates

B) Snowshoes

C) Ski poles

D) Sled runners

Answer · why

B) Snowshoes

Snowshoes spread a walker's weight, and these paws do the same: they splay 10 cm wide and hold almost twice the weight a bobcat's can before sinking.

Q 02/05

Ancient writers believed which lynx product hardened into a precious gemstone called lyngurium?

A) Its tears

B) Its saliva

C) Its blood

D) Its urine

Answer · why

D) Its urine

Its urine was said to set into a stone that the cat then buried out of spite. The gems people actually dug up were probably pieces of yellow amber.

Q 03/05

The bobcat, the smallest of the four lynx species, is named after which feature of its body?

A) Its pointed ears

B) Its spotted coat

C) Its short tail

D) Its wide face

Answer · why

C) Its short tail

Its short tail looks bobbed, as if cut off, and that gave the cat its name. The stub is only 9 to 20 cm long, with a black tip.

Q 04/05

An 87.5% fall in bobcat sightings in Florida's Everglades has been blamed on which invasive snake?

A) Burmese python

B) Boa constrictor

C) Green anaconda

D) King cobra

Answer · why

A) Burmese python

The Burmese python preys on the cats themselves, and the fall in sightings was measured between 2003 and 2011.

Q 05/05

Black bars on the ruff of fur under a lynx's neck are said to resemble which item of clothing?

A) A neck scarf

B) A bow tie

C) A lace bib

D) A hood

Answer · why

B) A bow tie

A bow tie is the usual comparison, though the bars are often hidden from view. On a Canada lynx the cheek fur grows longer in winter, so the ruff look...