The Eurasian lynx is the target of ongoing species reintroduction proposals in Great Britain. Proposed locations include the Scottish Highlands and Kielder Forest in Northumberland, England.
The Eurasian lynx is the target of ongoing species reintroduction proposals in Great Britain. Proposed locations include the Scottish Highlands and Kielder Forest in Northumberland, England.
Lynx are currently extinct in Great Britain, although the date of their extinction is not known with certainty. The youngest physical remains of Lynx, from Kinsey Cave in Craven, have been carbon-dated to between 150 CE and 600 CE. [1] A literary reference to what are likely lynx in Cumbria, dating to between the seventh and the tenth centuries, occurs in the Welsh poem Dinogad's Smock, suggesting they may not have been extirpated from the island of Great Britain until the Middle Ages. [1] A written record indicating the presence of a large cat in southern Scotland in the mid 18th century is noted by scholar Lee Raye, who tentatively argues that it may refer to a late-surviving population of lynx. [2] Since the extinction of the grey wolf from Britain in 1680 (see Wolves in Great Britain), the island contains no terrestrial apex predators.
In the post-Apex predator period, red and roe deer populations have increased dramatically due to having no natural predators; [3] with excessive deer foraging leading to prevention of forest regeneration, the stripping of tree vegetation, and removing of the shrub layer in forests, which provides a habitat for birds such as nightingales and willow warblers. Reintroducing large predators such as the lynx are seen by rewilding experts as a means of restoring balance in the ecosystem and keeping deer numbers under control.
Lynx Trust UK are a registered charity campaigning for the reintroduction of lynx to the Kielder Forest in Northumberland. [4] In 2018, a proposal to release six animals was turned down by then-Environment Secretary Michael Gove, [5] due to findings that the proposal did not "meet the necessary standards set out in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) guidelines and fails to give confidence that the project could be completed in practical terms or that the outputs would meet the stated aims". In 2020 the Trust began preparing a second proposal to be submitted, with three animals proposed.
The Wild East Project has proposed lynx reintroduction to areas of East Anglia. [6]
Lynx reintroduction into the Scottish Highlands has been proposed since 2008, [7] [8] and a study by Lynx Trust UK and the University of Lancaster found that the Scottish countryside would be able to support a population of up to 250 animals. [9] In 2020, Lynx Trust UK began a consultation into releasing lynx into the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park north of Glasgow. [10]
In January 2025, two lynx were illegally released near Kingussie, roaming for several hours before capture overnight by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. The release was condemned by the charity as "highly irresponsible" and their survival in the wild was viewed as "very unlikely". [11] Two further lynx - believed to be from the same family group - were later spotted in the area and then subsequently captured. [12] It was reported that the animals appeared to want to be rescued and were "looking for their food on a plate". [13] One of the lynx later died after being captured. [14]
The proposals have met opposition from sheep farmers, [15] citing threats the lynx would pose to their flocks; despite research indicating that because lynx also predate on foxes, the number of lambs killed would reduce. [16]
Tony Juniper, chairman of Natural England, voiced his support for the "inspiring" proposal in 2020, stating that it could help to cut deer numbers. [17] Scottish rewilding charity Trees for Life supports lynx reintroduction, claiming it would "restore ecological processes that have been missing for centuries, and provide a free and efficient deer management service". [3]
A lynx is any of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus Lynx. The name originated in Middle English via Latin from the Greek word lynx, derived from the Indo-European root *leuk-, in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes.
The Eurasian lynx is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus Lynx. It is widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an elevation of 5,500 m (18,000 ft). Despite its wide distribution, it is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching and depletion of prey.
Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustaining population to an area where it has been extirpated, or to augment an existing population. Species that may be eligible for reintroduction are typically threatened or endangered in the wild. However, reintroduction of a species can also be for pest control; for example, wolves being reintroduced to a wild area to curb an overpopulation of deer. Because reintroduction may involve returning native species to localities where they had been extirpated, some prefer the term "reestablishment".
The European pine marten, also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is less commonly also known as baum marten or sweet marten.
Kielder Forest is a large forestry plantation in Northumberland, England, surrounding Kielder village and the Kielder Water reservoir. It is the largest man-made woodland in England with three-quarters of its 250 square miles (650 km2) covered by forest. The majority of the forest lies within Kielder Water and Forest Park, with the southern tip known as Wark Forest lying within Northumberland National Park. The forest is next to the Anglo-Scottish border.
The Eurasian beaver or European beaver is a species of beaver widespread across Eurasia, with a rapidly increasing population of at least 1.5 million in 2020. The Eurasian beaver was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur and castoreum, with only about 1,200 beavers in eight relict populations from France to Mongolia in the early 20th century. It has since been reintroduced into much of its former range and now lives from Western, Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia through China and Mongolia, with about half the population in Russia. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.
The Caledonian Forest is the ancient (old-growth) temperate forest of Scotland. The forest today is a reduced-extent version of the pre-human-settlement forest, existing in several dozen remnant areas.
In British folklore and urban legend, British big cats refers to the subject of reported sightings of non-native, wild big cats in the United Kingdom. Many of these creatures have been described as "panthers", "pumas" or "black cats".
The Highland Wildlife Park is a 105-hectare (260-acre) safari park and zoo near Kingussie, Highland, Scotland. The park is located within the Cairngorms National Park. The park is run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA).
Ennerdale is a valley in Cumbria, England. Ennerdale Water, fed by the River Liza, is the most westerly lake in the Lake District National Park.
Pleistocene rewilding is the advocacy of the reintroduction of extant Pleistocene megafauna, or the close ecological equivalents of extinct megafauna. It is an extension of the conservation practice of rewilding, which aims to restore functioning, self-sustaining ecosystems through practices that may include species reintroductions.
The Wild Beasts Trust is an endangered species enthusiast movement who, in September 2006, declared their intentions to reintroduce numerous nationally extinct species back into the wild in the United Kingdom.
Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration aimed at increasing biodiversity and restoring natural processes. It differs from other forms of ecological restoration in that rewilding aspires to reduce human influence on ecosystems. It is also distinct from other forms of restoration in that, while it places emphasis on recovering geographically specific sets of ecological interactions and functions that would have maintained ecosystems prior to human influence, rewilding is open to novel or emerging ecosystems which encompass new species and new interactions.
Alladale Wilderness Reserve is a 23,000-acre (93 km2) highland estate in the Caledonian Forest in Sutherland, in the Scottish Highlands. The estate was purchased in 2003 by conservationist and philanthropist Paul Lister, who hopes to recreate a wooded landscape and reintroduce native animals including predators such as the Scottish wildcat and the wolf. It is now being managed as a privately-owned nature reserve that aims to promote biodiversity and associated tourism at the forefront of its mission. The idea of a wilderness reserve was inspired by Lister's visits to South Africa's ever popular game reserves, and to create an area of outstanding natural beauty, where a pack of European wolves could be released into a controlled reserve. This has been proven in South Africa, when over-grazed farmland has been returned to a more natural state.
Rewilding Britain is an organisation founded in 2015 that aims to promote the rewilding of Great Britain. It is a registered charity in England, Wales and Scotland.
Rewilding Europe is a non-profit organization based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, dedicated to creating rewilded landscapes throughout Europe. The group's efforts have contributed to increasing the stock of previously endangered species such as the European bison and the Iberian lynx.
The Eurasian beaver has been the successful subject of a century of official and unapproved species reintroduction programs in Europe and Asia. Beavers had been driven to the point of near extinction in Eurasia by humans trapping and hunting them for their meat, fur and castoreum. The reintroductions and conservation led in 2008, to the IUCN assessing the Eurasian beaver as being of "least concern" on its red list.
Iberá National Park is a national park in Argentina located in the northeast province of Corrientes. The national park adjoins the 5,530 km2 Iberá Provincial Park to the southeast. The national park and provincial park are both within the Iberá Provincial Nature Reserve, a conservation area of 13,245 km2 created in 1982. The combined protected area is the largest in Argentina.
Rewilding Argentina is an Argentine nonprofit conservation organization. It purchases private land, restoring ecosystems and developing wildlife corridors, then donates the land for national parks. The organization also reintroduces native species. Founded in 2010 by Argentine conservationists, Rewilding Argentina was preceded by Conservation Land Trust, which was established by Doug Tompkins in 1992.