Lynx are built for cold forests. They have huge paws that work like snowshoes, spreading their weight over deep snow so they don't sink. Their thick spotted coat helps them disappear against tree bark, sun patches and fallen leaves. A lynx can sit a few metres from a person and not be noticed.
Those famous black tufts on the tips of their ears are not just decoration. Scientists think they help focus sounds, a bit like little antennae. A lynx can hear a mouse moving under the snow from many metres away.
Lynx hunt alone, mostly at night. They sneak forward, freeze, sneak forward again, and then pounce. They can leap up to 4 metres in one jump - the length of a small car. Their favourite prey is the roe deer, but they will also catch hares, foxes and birds.
A mother lynx will raise her kittens (usually two or three) on her own. The kittens stay with her for about ten months, learning to hunt by watching, before heading off to find their own piece of forest. Slovakia, Poland and Romania are now some of the best places in Europe to be a lynx.