Two lynxes have been released in northern Italy. “On Thursday, a first young female lynx was released in the Italian part of the Julian Alps, followed by another yesterday. In total, up to five animals will be released into the wild,” reports WWF Austria biologist Magdalena Erich.
In this country, too, the species is threatened with extinction in some regions. In December, a male lynx was released into the Kalkalpen National Park. WWF calls for action to prevent habitat fragmentation and combat wildlife crime.
Females come from the Swiss canton of Jura
Thanks to resettlement projects started in the 1970s, the Eurasian lynx is back at home in the Alps – but not in the Italian part. The “ULyCA2” project wants to change that. The two animals arrived in Tarvisio (Friuli-Venezia Giulia region) from Switzerland in early March. Both the young female and the six-year-old animal come from the Swiss canton of Jura.
Another female and male, both from the Romanian Carpathians, will be released in the coming weeks in a remote part of the Tarvisio forest on the border with Slovenia, about 30 kilometers from a lynx population in the Slovenian Alps. The aim of the project is for the Slovenian and Italian lynx to converge as soon as possible and form a new core population.
Up to 40 lynx live in Austria
The resettlement is an important boost for the future of the lynx in the entire Alpine region and therefore also in Austria. Stocks in this country are still small and fragmented. “The maximum of 35 to 40 native lynx live in small, isolated populations. Their habitat is extremely fragmented, so there are hardly any descendants. Genetic impoverishment through inbreeding is also a major problem,” explains the expert. It must be possible to reduce illegal persecution, further fragmentation of habitats – by roads, settlements and industrial areas – can be prevented and overcome by the construction of safe crossing points, such as green bridges.
Source: Krone
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