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A Eurasian lynx. Note the ruff and ear tufts. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.      Eurasian Lynx Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) flourished throughout Europe but were almost wiped out by hunters and fur trappers in the mid 20th century. Their forests were also destroyed and their prey populations greatly reduced. What about British lynx? People thought they died out a few thousand years ago. New evidence indicates they lived at least to early medieval times. Bones of the Eurasian lynx in Britain are occasionally dug up in caves, indicating wild-living lynx. Lynx researchers David Hetherington and colleagues (see Bibliography below) dated bones from two lynx found in caves in different parts of Britain to about 1,500 and 1,800 years old. Bones from another lynx have also been dated at 1,800 years old. Thus these animals were alive in Britain at the end of the Roman period. Why Did British Lynx Die Out? Lynx are well adapted to live in forest and prey on forest dwelling animals. So the idea was that British lynx died out from natural causes, like an increasingly colder climate disappearing their forests and numbers of prey. But Hetherington and colleagues now question this idea. Lynx should not be unduly sensitive to big shifts in climate because the species is well adapted to cold climes (see map of lynx distribution). Nor should a scarcity of prey be a likely reason for their disappearance. Lynx eat a variety of prey; so if one prey type becomes rare they compensate by eating whatever else is available. The lynx researchers argue that, since British lynx lived into the historic period, man is a more likely cause for their extinction. So now there is a new hypothesis, based on the need for forest cover to stalk prey: Man's deforestation and grazing livestock (goats and sheep) reduced the number of prey for lynx. As lynx numbers and their prey declined the remaining lynx turned to killing livestock. Livestock farmers destroyed the remaining lynx to protect their livestock. World distribution of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx). About 50,000 live in Eurasia and they have been destroyed from Britain and most of western Europe. Reintroduce British Lynx? If lynx survived to early medieval times then they are part of Britain's native fauna. And if British lynx, like British wolves, died out because of man then they should be put back by man. It is our ethical duty and we should restore ecosystems we have degraded so that nature and man can flourish. Lynx were reintroduced to Austria, Germany and Switzerland in the 1970's. Efforts are being made to reintroduce lynx to France and Italy. Lynx could also be reintroduced to Britain. Certainly, changes in the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy to re-allocate subsidies for restoring natural landscapes make it more feasible that species like lynx will be able to return. Furthermore, like the wolf, the lynx is listed on the European Union's Annex IV of the Habitats and Species Directive. This Directive, to which Britain is a party, is a convention which prompts member European states to study the desirability of reintroducing species. Where should lynx be reintroduced? To the Scottish Highlands, for the same reason they is the best place to reintroduce wolves: ample space and prey and least interference from man. What does a British lynx reintroduction really depend on? Whether the public want it or not. A lynx recovery will not happen unless people speak out and are active. Now that more people have a greater interest and toleration for predators, the time is right to consider the lynx for reintroduction to Britain. Bibliography Breitenmoser U (1998): Large predators in the Alps: the fall and rise of Man's Competitors. Biological Conservation, 83, 279 - 289. Breitenmoser U, Breitenmoser-Würsten C, Okarma H, Kaphegyi T, Kaphegyi-Wallmann U & Müller U (2000): Action plan for the conservation of the Eurasian lynx in Europe (Lynx lynx). Nature and Environment 112, Council of Europe Publishing, Strasbourg. pp 1-83. Hetherington D A, Lord T C & Jacobi R M (in press): New Evidence for the Occurrence of Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) in Medieval Britain. Journal of Quarternary Science. Discussions of reintroducing lynx to Britain: Dennis R (1995): Scotland's native forest - return of the wild. Ecos 16, 17 - 21. Kitchener A C (1998): Extinctions, introductions and colonisations of Scottish mammals and birds since the last Ice Age. In Species History in Scotland, Lambert R A (ed). Scottish Cultural Press: Edinburgh. pp 63 - 92. Wilson C J (2004): Could we live with reintroduced large carnivores in the UK? Mammal Review, 34, 211 - 232. Yalden D W (1986): Opportunities for reintroducing British mammals. Mammal Review, 16, 53 - 63. Links Arkive Film clips of Iberian lynx in action. Page revised 11.05

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