Research overview: natural hybridization between bobcat and Canada lynx

Where the ranges of the bobcat and the Canada lynx overlap along the southern edge of the lynx distribution, the two species occasionally hybridize, producing animals sometimes called blynx. This overview surveys genetic confirmation of these natural hybrids using nuclear and mitochondrial markers, their apparent fertility, and the ecological context of a warming climate that may bring the species into greater contact. It discusses what hybridization between two members of the lynx lineage reveals about the permeability of felid species boundaries, the potential conservation implications for the threatened lynx, and how such hybrids are detected and interpreted in the field.