European conservation programs are assessing where best to release and rehome lynxes, focusing on boosting natural habitats after periods of captivity or prior capture for research and management. Strengthening lynx populations remains a priority not only in Spain, which has earned international recognition for its proactive efforts, but across the entire European landscape.
Last spring, an adult male lynx was captured in the Romanian Carpathians and released into Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes National Park. This move aimed to enrich the genetic diversity of the endangered lynx populations in Croatia and Slovenia and to support long-term viability in the wider region.
I’m looking for a new home
The released lynx, equipped with a telemetry collar, spent weeks establishing its new range. It moved first east toward the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, then crossed more than 100 kilometers toward Slovenia, and finally returned, albeit cautiously, to Plitvice as a settled territory.
Professor Miha Krofel, a wildlife management expert from Slovenia, noted that the project initialized a deeper understanding of the released animal’s behavior. The LYNXONTHEMOVE program spans two years and is scheduled to run through September 2024, gathering important data and insights for future releases.
“We aim to identify the key factors that determine whether an animal stays in the release area or needs relocation,” said Krofel, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Biotechnology at the University of Ljubljana. This ongoing work informs decisions about release strategy, habitat suitability, and post-release monitoring.
Although lynx conservation in Europe has progressed substantially over the past two decades, recent studies show that the six-month survival rate for translocated carnivores remains around 66 percent, with only about 37 percent displaying reproductive behavior. Relocated animals sometimes move beyond the designated release zones, underscoring the complexity of habitat suitability and range expansion.
Worrying trends
Lynxes possess sharp vision and acute hearing, making them formidable predators. Yet widespread hunting, inbreeding, habitat loss, and prey scarcity have driven dramatic declines across much of Europe. In Croatia and Slovenia, historical estimates placed the regional population at roughly 100 to 150 animals, a reminder of how fragile local ecosystems can be.
Conservation efforts since the 1970s have begun to tilt the balance, but declines persist in some countries and regions. “Overall numbers are slowly rising,” Krofel notes, while cautioning that progress is uneven and pockets of decline remain in areas such as Austria, North Macedonia, and certain French mountainous zones. [Cite: Krofel, University of Ljubljana]
Collaborations extend beyond Croatia and Slovenia. Mariano Rodríguez Recio, a Spanish lynx expert from Rey Juan Carlos University, joins Krofel in drawing on insights from Iberian reintroduction programs. Together they combine data from successful Iberian lynx recoveries with the Eurasian lynx work in the Balkans to glean new understandings of how released animals behave in varying environments.
Publication methods
Detecting lynxes in the wild is challenging due to their speed, camouflage, and nocturnal activity. Yet they are sometimes easier to reintroduce than other large carnivores like wolves or bears, given careful planning and monitoring from the outset. The success of a release hinges on multiple factors, including the chosen release method. Some animals may be released directly from a transport crate, while others pass through a center enclosure as a transitional step.
Environmental variables such as forest cover, elevation, and terrain play pivotal roles in movement patterns and the overall success of the operation. The LYNXONTHEMOVE team also evaluates the impact of human infrastructure. Roads, for instance, can pose serious barriers, but may also serve as information corridors that lynxes use to navigate and communicate, a phenomenon described by Krofel as a modern equivalent of a social network.
Regional dynamics
Interactions among different lynx populations influence release outcomes. A male may abandon an area already claimed by another male, while a female may relocate if another female arrives in her territory. The team relies on a mix of infrared camera data, telemetry from collars on released animals, and observations of other lynxes to build a clearer picture of movement and territory formation.
Using expertise from Recio and the Iberian recovery program in Spain, the team applies cutting-edge analyses and simulations to predict how movement will respond to environmental conditions. These insights help conservation managers decide where to release animals and how to implement the process effectively.
With continued study, the project aims to offer practical guidance on the best release sites and methods, contributing to stronger, more resilient lynx populations in Europe.
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