Lynx behaviour around reindeer carcasses

Abstract: The main prey for lynx in northern Sweden is semi-domestic reindeer. Lynx oftenutilise their large prey for several days and therefore a special behaviour can be observedaround a kill site. The aim of this study was to investigate behavioural characteristics of lynxaround killed reindeer and examine factors that might affect the behaviour. Data wascollected in 2008 during two 6-weeks periods (winter and summer) from 4 lynx equippedwith GPS-collars. In total 77 kill sites were analysed. Lynx spent on average 40 hours(SD=40) around a kill site but only about 10 hours (SD=11) within 50 meters of the carcass.Lynx revisited the carcasses on average 4 times (SD=3.5) and rested on average 898 meters(SD=1311) away from the carcass. I found that higher complexity in the environment suchas steep slope and dense vegetation increased time spent around kill sites and shorteneddistance to resting sites, presumably because this is where lynx can feel safe. My results canbe helpful in future predation studies, where it can aid interpretation of GPS-data anddistinguish kill sites of reindeer from other clustered positions.