Lynx on the loose in Scotland highlight debate over reintroducing species into the wild
Share:
Scottish environmental activists want to reintroduce the lynx into the forests of the Highlands. But not this way. At least two lynx, a medium-sized wildcat extinct in Scotland for hundreds of years, were spotted in the Highlands on Wednesday, raising concerns that a private breeder had illegally released the predators into the wild.
Two cats were captured on Thursday, but authorities are continuing their search after two others were seen early Friday near Killiehuntly in the Cairngorms National Park. Wildlife authorities are setting traps in the area so they can humanely capture the lynx and take them to the Edinburgh Zoo, where the captured cats are already in quarantine, said David Field, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
The hunt highlights a campaign by some activists to reintroduce lynx to help control the deer population and symbolize Scotland’s commitment to wildlife diversity. While no one knows who released the cats, wildlife experts speculate that it was either someone who took matters into their own hands because they were frustrated by the slow process of securing government approval for the project, or an opponent who wants to create problems that will block the reintroduction effort.
“Scotland has a history of illicit guerrilla releases,” said Darragh Hare, a research fellow at the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, citing releases of beavers and pine martins. But doing it right, in a way that everyone can have their say, is important.
