The Missing Lynx: Rewilding and Restoring Britain's Cats
Scotland has suitable habitat and a prey base of around 1.5 million deer that could support at least 400 lynx.
My recent posts have all focused on animals that were present in Pleistocene Britain, but have subsequently disappeared not only from Britain but also from the rest of the world (cave lions, sabre-toothed cats and megafauna in general). In my next few posts I'm going to pivot to a species that has disappeared from Britain but which has succeeded in clinging on, and in some cases thriving, elsewhere.
For this species, then, we're not just thinking wistfully about what might have been if our ancestors had not exterminated much of the Ice Age megafauna, but we're also talking about a species that could potentially be reintroduced into Britain if the conditions for them to thrive are in place. Which they are.
I'm talking, of course, about the lynx.
Making Headlines
The possible reintroduction of the lynx to Britain has been in the headlines again over recent days, after four animals were illegally released in Scotland over the weekend. Those animals were soon recaptured - and in fact one has since died - but their brief return to the wilds of Britain has reignited the debate on rewilding, and particularly the reintroduction of carnivores (albeit quite small ones).
Lynx disappeared from the UK around 1,300 years ago, as a result of habitat loss, prey scarcity and persecution by the growing human population at the time. As human settlements increased in number and size, forests were cut down to make way for fields and agriculture, and the favourite lynx habitat rapidly started to disappear. Lynx are ambush predators, which means that they like to sneak up on their prey before surprising it and taking it down with their very sharp claws and teeth. With the forests rapidly disappearing, and general numbers of prey also declining, the species was doomed in Britain. Lynx were also actively targeted by humans in medieval Britain. They were hunted for their fur, which was highly valued, and they were also perceived as a potential threat to livestock.
The lynx suffered similar declines in Europe, before recovering once conservation efforts took hold and they were reintroduced to several countries in central and eastern Europe. Populations are now recovering in Scandinavia and much of eastern Europe. Meanwhile in Spain and Portugal, the Iberian lynx (distinct from the Eurasian lynx that is found elsewhere in Europe) has been reintroduced as part of a targeted breeding program.
Could lynx really make a return to Britain?
Today, the prospect of lynx reintroduction to Britain is increasingly under consideration, especially in Scotland where there are two key ingredients that could potentially help reintroduction succeed - sufficient prey, and suitable habitat. Lynx could help restore natural ecosystems by keeping overabundant deer in check that contribute to forest degradation. Top predators such as wolves and lynx play an important role in ecosystems. Most obviously, they control the numbers of certain herbivores by preying on them. In the case of Scotland, this might actually save money for landowners, as they will no longer have to pay to cull overabundant deer populations.
However, it's not just a case of the lynx preying on deer. They affect the behaviour of prey through what is called the ecology of fear. Lynx leave scent marks through faeces, urine or scrapes that advertise their presence. This keeps animals on the move prevents overgrazing, allowing tree saplings and other vegetation to establish.
There are four species of lynx: the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), and the bobcat (Lynx rufus). They look a bit like over-sized house cats, with the exception of their distinctive ear tufts, which make them out as definitely not your friendly domestic cat. They have padded paws that look like mini snow shoes, and help them navigate their favoured snowy terrain.
The Eurasian lynx is the subspecies that was once present in Britain, and is the largest of its cousins. It preys on roe deer and is currently found across Europe and Asia, where it plays a key role in controlling populations of deer. The Iberian lynx is small than its Eurasian cousin, and is found in Spain and Portugal, where it has been the focus of successful conservation efforts in recent years. The Canada lynx favours North American boreal forests, whereas the bobcat is found across North America. It has a more generalised diet, including rabbits, rodents and birds, and has featured in one of my previous posts.
Not everyone is excited by the prospect of lynx reintroduction in the UK. In a country that exterminated the vast majority of its large-bodied mammals many centuries ago, people are not used to living alongside wildlife, especially carnivores. Farmers are concerned that lynxes might attack sheep and other livestock, and while the primary source of food for lynxes is wild animals, such as deer and rabbits, there have indeed been reports of attacks on livestock in countries where the animal coexists with humans. In the UK, sheep farming is one of the major agricultural industries, and farmers are afraid that a new predator would lead to losses. Lynx reintroduction would have to be accompanied by a compensation scheme that offsets any losses suffered by farmers.
Once that's in place, lynx reintroduction is a 'no brainer'. Lynx have already dispersed across much of Europe, and would have already arrived in the UK if the English Channel had not stopped them. Scotland has sufficient habitat and a prey base of around 1.5 million deer that could support at least 400 lynx.
The time to act is now.
I very much agree with you about the benefits of re-introducing these animals into the Scottish environment. But it has to be done properly by people who know what they’re doing and not the persons involved in the recent release of what were clearly human habituated animals that were very unlikely to be able to survive in the wild.