Trail cameras in Spain have captured fascinating new behavior in the area's Iberian lynxes: some of them now appear to be washing their food.
A study published in the journal Ecology documented a case of a female lynx in Montes de Toledo that was filmed dunking a rabbit in a water trough.
According to IFL Science, this is not the first time this behavior has been observed in the area's lynxes. The first incident was observed in 2020, with a second almost exactly three years later.
In total, researchers have documented eight instances of pre-soaking by five different female lynxes — but until now, they had relied on non-recorded firsthand instances and camera footage that only showed evidence without actually capturing the dunking act itself.
While this incident isn't unprecedented among this small group of cats, it's still remarkable: this population is exhibiting a behavior not previously known to occur in any other carnivore worldwide.
Other animals, including raccoons, primates, and birds, have been known to soak or wash their food before eating it. Usually, the animals doing it eat fruit or are omnivores, and most examples of the behavior are observed in captivity.
In this case, researchers believe that the females exhibiting this behavior may be related or may have passed it to each other in some other way. Other lynxes have never been observed pre-soaking their food.
Researchers don't know the reason why they are engaging in this behavior. It doesn't seem to be related to temperature or the availability of drinking water.
One theory is that wet food might help cubs transition from milk to solid food.
Trail cameras continue to be a vital resource in identifying, tracking, and studying animals in a wide range of habitats without disturbing their natural behavior. Whether it's beavers with young kits or wolves raiding crab traps, this technology gives us a glimpse into wild lives that we couldn't get any other way.
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