Life on the mean streets of St. Petersburg, Russia isn’t easy for a stray cat. It’s an unending struggle to find a bite to eat while kindness and love are often in short supply. A stray calico decided to give the zoo a try. She found some food and water — the only problem was that it was in the lynx’s enclosure. Horrified zoo goers were afraid that the poor cat was about to end up as the lynx’s lunch.
Biologists would describe the lynx as a medium-sized cat, meaning that it’s much larger than a house cat but smaller than a mountain lion (an adult lynx typically weighs between 45 and 65 pounds). They’re gorgeous animals, with spotted fur, a bobbed tail, and distinctive black ear tufts. Lynxes like living in forests, where they find an abundance of prey and no shortage of hiding places. For the most part, they eat small game: rabbits, hare, various and sundry rodents, grouse, perhaps a red fox if they can catch one. Lynxes are strong and entirely capable of grabbing a deer or sheep — one particularly ambitious lynx managed to make a meal of a 330 pound deer!
The stray calico that ended up in the lynx’s enclosure at the zoo was still quite young and it’s possible that had something to do with the unexpected turn the story took. Instead of devouring the cat, the lynx became downright maternal. As you’ll see in the video posted below, they look just like a mother cat and her kitten. There’s head-butting, licking, and snuggling. The stray cat became a regular visitor and the zookeepers decided there was nothing wrong with the two felines providing each other with love and companionship.
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