Prowling through the woods is a wild and wanton predator to which all small animals fear - the Lynx. Although it is classified as a small cat, the different species of this fierce feline can grow from 36 in (90 cm) to 32 to 51 in (81 to 129 cm), outsizing the domesticated cat. It is a specialized predator, hunting almost exclusively on rabbits, hares, and deer. It will also hunt rodents, small carnivores, and gamefowl, and worse still, they’ve been reported to hunt Equestria’s ponies, mostly unattended foals. There are different species and subspecies of lynx; the bobcat is also classified as a member of this genus. Lynxes are usually found in temperate woods, boreal forests, and mixed forest-steppes, with a sizeable population in Vanhoover and other northern locations in Equestria. However, there have been instances of them found in the jungles south of the pony kingdom. This is likely due to the guardian creature of the Tenochtitlan Basin, Ahuizotl, having acquired one to serve as one of his feline sentries. While they do meow and purr like domestic cats, lynxes will make low, guttural growls [if you want to know what these growls sound like, The Secret of Nimh and An American Tail use bobcat vocalizations for the cats’ snarls to make them monstrous in comparison]. Although lynxes have been taken in by ponies as exotic pets, they cannot be tamed. However, some of their species are being threatened into extinction, and conservation efforts have been made to save these beautiful cats.

This is something I wanted to work on. It wasn’t easy. Daring Don’t provided the perfect pose, while Daring Doubt supplied the correct color scheme, as well as a less aggressive expression for the eyes. The real challenge was trying to create a good pose since they I couldn’t find one where there was a full-body scene at close-up. So I had to improvise with the head through a close-up scene, and then I had to angle the head once I got to work on the body. Even though the only lynx was one of Ahuizotl’s guard dogs, err I mean, cat, I decided to make him friendly-looking.

I plan on doing more artwork featuring this feline, and some might be a surprise.

Traced from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 4 Episode 3, “Daring Don’t” and Season 9 Episode 21 “Daring Doubt.”