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Slovenia, Sweden, Norway, France, Estonia, Romania, Poland, Italy or Germany - they all have a common resident, the European lynx. However, the largest wildcat on the continent does not live safely in all these countries. That is why a 50-member international group of scientists recently met in the Neuschönau Hans-Eisenmann-Haus to present the latest research results on the lynx. They decided to found a European lynx network, which will jointly examine the essentials of lynx ecology, including data from the North Cape to the Balkans and from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus.

For three days the workshop participants talked about, among other issues, the lynx management practices in Scandinavia, the need for genetic exchange, especially for smaller populations of these fascinating animals, the use of telemetry to observe wildlife, and the reintroduction of cats in the Palatinate Forest. Of course they also discussed the current situation of the lynx in the border triangle Bavaria-Bohemia-Upper Austria.

In the end, the participants agreed that many current challenges can only be solved effectively together. That is why the decision was made to set up the EUROLYNX network. Under this umbrella there should be a common database and standardized procedures for the evaluation of telemetry data, photo-trap images and genetic data. On this basis, the network plans to develop the scientific basis for a better protection of the lynx in Europe.

"The fact that the various research groups have been brought together under the roof of the EUROLYNX network is an outstanding result of the workshop," says Marco Heurich, Deputy Head of Nature Conservation and Research in the Bavarian Forest National Park. "This brings important impulses for the protection of the lynx as well as the practical management. "

(Text taken over by , 26.10.2018)

(Text mirrored and translated from the National Park Administration Bayrischer Wald 26 October 2018 )