Extreme home range sizes among Eurasian lynx at the northern edge of their biogeographic range

Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) have a wide distribution across Eurasia. The northern edge of this distribution is in Norway, where they reach up to 72 degrees north. We conducted a study of lynx space use in this region from 2007 to 2013 using GPS telemetry. The home range sizes averaged 2,606 (+/- 438 SE) km(2) for males (n = 9 ranges) and 1,456 (+/- 179 SE) km(2) for females (n = 24 ranges). These are the largest home ranges reported for any large felid, and indeed are only matched by polar bears, arctic living wolves, and grizzly bears among all the Carnivora. The habitat occupied was almost entirely treeless alpine tundra, with home ranges only containing from 20% to 25% of forest. These data have clear implications for the spatial planning of lynx management in the far north as the current management zones are located in unsuitable habitats and are not large enough to encompass individual lynx movements.

Automated summary

The Eurasian lynx in the northern region of Norway have relatively large home range sizes, primarily occupying treeless alpine tundra with minimal forest cover. This has significant implications for spatial planning in lynx management in the far north.