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Frank
Entsminger
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"Leap of Life" Edition of 36 Two
interesting events occurred which inspired me to do this lynx sculpture.
The first which most outdoor enthusiasts are aware of was during the
last few years of the 20th century, 1998-1999 the north land, Canada and
Alaska again went through another high snow shoe hare cycle. This in turn
fueled a high lynx cycle which peaked in eastern interior Alaska in the
year 2000. As an offshoot of this, I found myself skinning a fair number
of cats for the taxidermy and fur trade giving me an excellent opportunity
to study their anatomy. The second was a most interesting trip to Eastern
Russia in the Khabarovsk area. I had the good fortune to observe and
photograph at extremely close range their Eurasian lynx, which is Asiašs
counterpart of our Canadian lynx. The two species are very similar to one
another, however, the Eurasian cat is generally larger in size and more
strikingly marked. Watching them at such close range made me keenly aware
of their awesome beauty. At any rate, I had cats on my mind for some
time. The snowshoe hare is their preferred diet but when the rabbit
cycle crashes the cats are forced to hunt alternative food sources such as
grouse and ptarmigan which this sculptures depicts, anything will do to
perpetuate their continued survival, hence the name "Leap of Life"
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