The killing technique of Eurasian lynx

In 13 cases (ten roe deer, two red deer, and one cham- ois), the prey remains were found early enough for the bite marks to be studied. In all the cases lynx killed their prey with a bite in the neck region. In eight (62%) instances, the bite was from the ventral side of the neck only, in three (23%) cases only from the dorsal side, and in two (15%) cases bite marks could be distinguished on both sides of the neck. In nine cases we performed a more detailed autopsy of the region with the bite marks. In five out of the six cases (83%) where the bite was delivered from the ventral side, we could find injuries in the region of the common carotid artery (a. carotis communis) and the truncus vago- sympathicus (Fig. 1). In three out of these five cases the laryngeal cartilages and/or windpipe were damaged. In only one case the injuries inflicted by teeth were