Population and habitat characteristics of lynx and snowshoe hares in north central Washington

Abstract

Lynx (Lynx canadensis) and snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) population characteristics and use of habitats were studied during 1985–1987 in north central Washington. Lynx used areas above 1463 m elevation that were dominated by lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and Engelmann spruce – subalpine fir (Picea engelmannii – Abies lasiocarpa) cover types. Snowshoe hares were the most common prey of lynx, with remains of snowshoe hare occurring in 23 of 29 scats. Counts of tracks and pellets showed snowshoe hares to be most abundant in 20-year-old lodgepole pine stands. Fire suppression and natural fire frequencies in the past 5 decades has limited the amount of these early successional forests, which are important as habitat for snowshoe hares. Marginal habitat conditions for snowshoe hares probably resulted in a scarcity of prey in the study area and may explain the relatively large home ranges of lynx (69 ± 28 km2 for five males and 39 ± 2 km2 for two females), low density of adults (2.3 lynx/100 km2), and high kitten mortality rates (88% for eight kittens in three litters). Demographic characteristics of lynx in the study area may be representative of lynx populations along the southern periphery of their range where habitat conditions are marginal for lynx and snowshoe hares.