Why Do Lynx Have Ear Tufts? What Scientists Think

What are lynx ear tufts?

Ear tufts are bundles of long, stiff black hairs that grow upward from the tips of the ears. In the Canada lynx and the Eurasian lynx they usually measure about 4 cm (1.6 in), long enough to be seen from a distance. The bobcat has much shorter tufts, often under 2.5 cm (1 in), and in some bobcats they are barely visible.

The tufts are part of a striking set of features. Lynx ears are triangular and lined with black, and the backs usually carry a pale patch. Together with the facial ruff and pale eyes, the tufts give lynxes a distinctive face that is easy to recognize even in a quick glimpse.

Which cats have ear tufts?

The caracal (Caracal caracal) of Africa and western Asia is not a true lynx, but it has some of the most dramatic ear tufts of any cat. Because it lives in dry, open country rather than snowy forests, its tufts suggest that they are not just an adaptation to cold.

Idea 1: Signaling to other lynx

Many biologists think the tufts work as visual signals. Cats communicate a great deal with their ears: ears pricked forward show attention, while ears turned back or flattened show fear or aggression. Black tufts at the tips act like flags that make these movements easier to read, especially at dusk and in dim forests when lynx are most active.

This idea fits the fact that lynx ears are also boldly marked with black edges and pale patches. It may help animals that are usually solitary to read each other’s mood quickly when they meet, for example during the mating season or between a mother and her kittens. However, it has not been tested in controlled studies with wild lynx.

Idea 2: Camouflage

A second idea is that the tufts help hide the lynx. Rounded ears can give away the outline of a cat’s head, while thin tufts may blend with grass stems, twigs and branches, breaking up that outline. A lynx crouching in ambush beside a hare trail depends on staying unseen.

This explanation is plausible but also untested. Some researchers point out that the tufts are dark and stand out against snow, so they may be more visible, not less, in some situations.

Idea 3: Helping with hearing

Perhaps the most popular idea is that the tufts act like antennae, helping to catch or direct sounds into the ear, or detecting air movement. Lynx certainly have excellent hearing, which they use with their eyesight to find hares and rodents in dense cover.

Yet there is little evidence that the tufts themselves improve hearing. They are thin and sparse compared with the large ear opening, and many cats with superb hearing, such as the serval, have no tufts at all. Most scientists consider this idea unproven.

Idea 4: Other suggestions

Other suggestions include that the tufts help keep snow, insects or debris out of the ears, or that they work a little like whiskers, sensing contact with branches. None of these has been supported by research. It is also possible that the tufts have more than one function, or that they are partly an inherited feature of the lynx family, shared because of common ancestry rather than a current purpose.

Other lynx features that are better understood

While the tufts remain a puzzle, other lynx features have clear jobs:

• Huge furry paws: The Canada lynx’s paws spread up to about 10 cm (4 in) and can support almost twice as much weight as a bobcat’s paws before sinking, letting it hunt on soft snow.
• Long legs: Long hind legs give powerful bounds for short chases after hares.
• Facial ruff: Long cheek fur grows thicker in winter, adding insulation around the face and throat.
• Thick coat: Long, dense fur insulates against temperatures far below freezing in the northern forests.

The close link between these features and life in snowy forests is one reason the lynx is so tied to the snowshoe hare; see why do lynx numbers rise and fall? for how that relationship shapes lynx populations.

Ear tufts in other animals

Ear tufts appear in several unrelated mammals. Eurasian red squirrels and the tassel-eared squirrels of the American Southwest grow long ear tufts mainly in fall and winter and lose much of them in summer, which suggests a seasonal role, possibly in insulation or display. Owls such as the long-eared owl and great horned owl have “ear tufts” too, but these are feathers on the head with no link to the ears, and are thought to help with camouflage and communication.

In short, the ear tufts of lynxes are one of the most recognizable features in the cat family, but their purpose is still an open question that wild cat researchers have yet to settle.