John E Marriott's Image

John E Marriott (Canada) frames a lynx resting from the cold wind, with its fully grown young sheltering behind it.

John had been tracking this family group for almost a week in Canada’s Yukon territory, wearing snowshoes and carrying light camera gear to make his way through snowy forests.

When fresh tracks led him to the group, he kept his distance to make sure he didn’t disturb them.

Editor, Writer and Competition Judge Roz Kidman Cox calls attention to “that intent look, the soft, thick fur, the huge snowshoe feet and those ear tufts. But wait... It’s not one Canadian lynx, it’s two – no, three. To have got close to such an elusive, wary cat – widely trapped for its fur – is rare, but to have portrayed the whole family is extraordinary.”

Lynx are mostly solitary, and females raise kittens on their own. The kittens will stay with the mother for the first year of their lives before leaving to find their own territory.

Lynx mainly prey on the snowshoe hare. As the amount of snow decreases because of climate change, other predators can compete with them for the chance to hunt the hares. This is affecting hare populations and, in turn, numbers of lynx.