Eurasian lynx in the snow (© Jan Stria/Shutterstock)
Ready for a next-level staring contest? Don’t worry, you're unlikely to come face to face with a Eurasian lynx like this one, padding through the snow on our homepage. This elusive predator prowls around the forests of northern Europe and Siberia and the hills and mountains of Central Asia, often unnoticed by humans. Their low calls can be heard by other lynx, and they are primarily active at night, dawn, and dusk, although they can hunt by day if needed. These solitary hunters have keen senses and remarkable agility, able to climb trees and jump more than 6 feet straight up to catch prey. In temperate forests, they mainly dine out on rabbits, hares, marmots, and other small mammals, although they can take on prey as large as deer.