Last week, a 10-week old Lynx cub made his debut at the Montréal Biodôme. Visitors will now get to see the cub play hide and seek, learn to climb trees, and leap from rock to rock … all under the watchful eye of his mother.

In May, the animal keepers at the Biodôme suspected that the six-year-old female Lynx was pregnant, judging by her weight gain and her behavior. Since she was looking for a dark, safe place to give birth, a wooden shelter was built over her rest area. The Lynx cub was born during the night of May 26-27, in good health, while two other cubs died within just a few days. The surviving cub has done very well since then. He is still nursing, but has recently been developing a taste for small game. On July 26, during his general check-up, he received his first vaccination without any complaints. He weighs just over 5 pounds (2.3 kg).

Over the next few months, the young Lynx will be alone with his mother in the Laurentian Maple Forest habitat. During this time the six-year-old father will be kept in night quarters. Just as in the wild, the female raises her cub alone, since males can be a threat to their offspring.

Lynx have a low success rate when it comes to breeding in captivity. From 1999 to 2009, the average North American birth rate for Canada Lynx was 1.45 cubs per year. The Biodôme,a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA), is very proud of this important birth.

Photo Credits: © Biodôme de Montréal (Claude Lafond)