brown bear

lynxThe myth of a lynx attacking its prey from a tree crown iswidespread but has no element of truth to it. A lynx catches itsprey only from the ground. If it fails to capture a stalked preyanimal with a few leaps, the hunt is over – a lynx will not chaseits meal. Lynxes do not kill people who walk in the woods –neither from a tree nor on the ground. A lynx will not attackeven a human who gets close to its den. She will just leave thekittens and run away. Once the danger is over, she will move herlitter to a new place.The likelihood of accidentally running into a lynx is very small.People usually make so much noise when moving in the woodsthat the extremely sharp-eared animal will have plenty of timeto get out of the way. The chance of seeing a lynx is furtherreduced by the fact that lynxes are most active in twilight, whenSunday wanderers generally have no business in the woods.Those who wish to avoid any possible encounters should remindthe forest inhabitants of their presence from time to time withtheir voice or other sounds.Estonian Museum of Natural History•Dangerous Nature: Myths & Realityanimals 7