In nature, carnivores have evolved to survive, some with strong limbs, some with great agility, and some with sharp teeth.
All of these features are unique to facilitate the hunting of herbivores so that they can survive in the natural world.
In the Nalyboki forest in west-central Belarus, the Eurasian lynx and the European forest wolf live together, and there is a strong interspecies competition between them, and experts have found that both lynx and wolves have the habit of killing each other's cubs.
This is not difficult to understand, because the cubs of either party will become a threat to the other after they grow up.
Due to the existence of lynx, the mortality rate of wolf cubs remains high, reaching 40%-60%, and even 90% in local areas. In some years, as all l wolf cubs are killed by lynxes, it leads to the phenomenon of a zero reproduction rate.
On the contrary, the survival rate of lynx cubs is as high as 80%. Why can the lynx massacre the wolf's children and grandchildren? Related to several factors.
The lynx is a more responsible animal, for the "lynx dad", its main responsibility is to provide security for the lynx cubs.
To achieve this, it will actively kill animals that are a threat to its cubs in its habitat, including but not limited to wolves, red foxes, and dog badgers. Actively eliminating potential threats to cubs is a male lynx's greatest sense of responsibility.
Wolves are pack animals, and although lynxes are brave, they are no match for wolves, and even adult male big lynxes will not take the initiative to provoke wolves.
However, during the nursery period, when the wolf parents go out for food, they will often leave their cubs in a specific place and come back to feed them after getting food.
Since there are not enough people in the wolf pack, most of the time, only the wolf cubs are left alone there, which allows the lynx to take advantage of the situation.
In addition, like most cats, the lynx hunting method is mostly ambush type, and hiding in the shadows to sneak up on the target is its mastery. Wolves, on the other hand, are pursuing predators, and concealment is not a skill they are good at.
In the forest environment, especially in the forests of central and western Belarus, where the number of fallen trees is high, the lynx has a unique advantage, and it is this set of natural and geographical conditions that make it possible for the lynx to massacre wolves.