The secretive Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), a medium-sized wild cat, is one of the widest ranging cats in the world and can be found in the forests of western Europe, Russia and central Asia. Europe's third largest predator after brown bears and wolves, its distinctive features are its black tufts at the tips of its ears and a long white facial “ruff”. It has grey, rusty or red fur which grows thicker in winter. Its coat is also patterned, almost always with dark spots – the pattern varies with some animals having very clear black spots merging into narrow stripes, others having almost no spots. A strict carnivore, it feeds mostly on hoofed mammals such as deer.
