SPATIAL-ORGANIZATION OF A LYNX POPULATION

I examined the home-range relationships and spatial organization of an untrapped lynx (Lynx canadensis) population in the southern Northwest Territories, Canada. I determined annual home ranges and static and d ynamic interactions among 30 radio-collared adult lynx from April 1989 to April 1993. Densities of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), the ma in prey, declined during winter 1990-1991. There was extensive range o verlap between sexes, and between certain pairs of female lynx. Ranges among most males and among other individual or pairs of females were more exclusive. Most intrasexual dynamic interactions indicated neithe r attraction nor avoidance, suggesting that home-range boundaries were maintained by passive means. Two male-female pairs showed some positi ve attraction during the early part of the first winter of low hare de nsity. Home ranges of three male and three female lynx monitored for 3 consecutive years were stable. Spatial organization broke down during winter 1991-1992, when all resident lynx died or dispersed; this was concomitant with the first full winter of low hare density. Spatial or ganization observed prior to low hare densities may be described as a land-tenure system, based on prior residency, and may have served to r egulate the density of this untrapped population during peak prey leve ls.