The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has announced it has successfully captured a total of four wild lynx, which were released illegally in Cairngorms, which is located in the Scottish Highlands.
Working in collaboration with Police Scotland and Cairngorms National Park, experts from the wildlife conservation charity humanely trapped two of the wild cats overnight on January 9, near the Dell of Killiehuntly, where they were safely transferred to Edinburgh zoo for treatment.
Cameras set up in the region confirmed the presence of two additional Lynx in the same area, which were subsequently captured at approximately 6:30p.m on January 10, using a series of humane traps set up by the teams to entice the animals,
Sadly, the RZSS has announced that despite their best efforts, one of the lynx died during the night, following it’s seizure, and a postmortem will be conducted on the dead animal to pinpoint the exact circumstances resulting in it’s death.
RZSS head of conservation, Dr Helen Senn, said, “After extensive efforts to capture these animals safely and humanely, we were very sad to discover that one of them has died overnight.
“We do not yet know the circumstances behind its death but will be carrying out a postmortem to try to establish what happened.
“Whatever the case, this unfortunate development just serves to further demonstrate the folly of abandoning these amazing animals in the wild, with no preparation or real concern for their welfare.
“We can only imagine the stress that all four of the recovered lynx must have experienced after being thrust into an entirely new and extremely harsh environment to fend for themselves.
“Our team of expert keepers and veterinarians will now ensure that they get the best possible care moving forward. The surviving member of the pair will now be heading down to Edinburgh to quarantine alongside the two lynx who were captured on Thursday.”
Lynx
Due to biosecurity laws in place, the surviving Lynx will quarantine for 30 days at the zoo’s quarantine facilities before a decision will be made on their long term home, which will be taken on the basis of health and welfare assessments.
Highland Wildlife Park, which is already home to two grown Northern Lyncx, named switch and Leon, is being mooted as one such potential location for the three abandoned lynx.
The illegal release of the four lynx has met universal condemnation from all parties involved in their capture as well as additional third parties.
RZSS chief executive, David Field said: “We condemn the illegal release of these lynx in the strongest possible terms. It was a highly irresponsible act and it is very unlikely they would have survived in the wild due to a lack of adequate preparation.
“Their abandonment was reckless to the animals, the public, the community and nature.”
While chief executive of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Grant Moir, added: “The Park Authority condemns the illegal release of wild animals in the strongest possible terms and attention must now turn to investigating how this took place”.
Police Scotland have confirmed it is undergoing enquiries to establish who is accountable for the act of illegal rewilding and are asking members of the public to refrain from traveling to the area in the meantime.
