Meet Stanley

This isn’t your typical house cat. This big-pawed fuzzy ball of fur is five-month-old Stanley, a baby lynx, who lives at the Seneca Park Zoo.

Stanley was born on June 2, 2022, which makes him five months old—and he is fourteen pounds! His mother Bianca and his father Gretzky continue to nurture Stanley as he explores the world around him.

Baby lynx mature quite quickly, and by three months old they typically do not look to their mom to take care of them. Stanley is very independent for being five months old. He loves climbing and jumping, but sometimes when he does get scared he will run to his mother for comfort. Since Stanley has grown up quickly, he was starting to eat solid foods at just five weeks old. Stanley loves eating chicken and ground meats, and on special days he gets ribs!

Stanley was named after Lord Stanley, who donated the Stanley Cup, an iconic trophy in hockey. His father is named after Wayne Gretzky who has won four Stanley Cups in his career. Stanley and his father have a very sweet relationship. They like to cuddle under trees and clean each other while mother Bianca sits and watches to keep them safe.

Stanley’s parents are very patient with him. He will jump on them and bite their ears and their tails, and they allow him to as long as he does not hurt them. If he does go too far they nip at him and tell him to stop. Sometimes they all huddle together and sleep in a fuzzy circle—they are a very close family.

Lynx cats are very similar to house cats. They love hiding in boxes, they love chasing things, and they love finding new smells. The Seneca Park Zoo definitely spoils its animals and include heated floors in the enclosure. Even though Stanley and his parents are equipped with big paws and thick fur, they love the heated floors during the cold months.

If you have ever looked at a lynx you may notice that they have small bobtails. Lynx don’t have long tails because they primarily live in forests, and they don’t climb super high into trees. Most of the time cats use their tails for balancing and having short bobtails makes running and jumping easier for them.

When you visit the Seneca Park Zoo you may wonder why all the other great cats such as the tiger and snow leopard are alone but the lynx are together as a family. Well, in the wild, lynx cats would be alone for the majority of their lives. They would come together and have kittens, but once the kittens matured, they would live on their own. The lynx family at the Seneca Park Zoo have such a special bond that they are allowed to live together as a family. So, make sure to stop by and see this beautiful little treasure before Stanley grows up and moves out of the house.

PARENTS:

This article about Stanley and his family is a great way for kids to learn about lynx cats and what makes them unique. Use this article as a base for discussion with your children. Below are some questions and activities for your family.

Q: Why do lynx cats have short tails? Activity: Find a list of wild cats online or in a book and see how—or if—they need tails to climb.

Q: How big do lynxes get?

Activity: Search online or at the library to find out how large these animals will weight as adults. Q: Does a housecat act like a lynx? How so?

Activity: Monitor a house cat and list everything they do that is similar to a lynx.

Q: What do lynxes eat in the wild?

Activity: Find a list of different types of prey and list where they live.