The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) confirmed that a lynx which was captured in the Cairngorms National Park had died overnight. The animal was one of four released illegally and caught in the Highlands in recent days. The first pair, which was captured on Thursday after an alert was issued on Wednesday, has been quarantined in Edinburgh Zoo for 30 days. The pair was joined by the surviving lynx from the couple captured on Friday, taken almost 12 hours after the cat was first spotted.
Dr Helen Senn, head of conservation at the RZSS, said: “Unfortunately overnight we’ve had the news that one of the lynx didn’t make it. It was found dead this morning.” Temperatures in the area plunged to as low as -14C. A full post-mortem examination would be carried out, but the cause of death is currently unknown. Typically the average low in northern Scotland for this time of year is about 0.3C.
Lynx, which are roughly the size of a Labrador, are usually shy and solitary creatures, and attacks on humans are virtually unheard of. Some conservation groups have been advocating lynx reintroduction in Scotland, but farming communities are concerned about their potential impact on livestock. The RZSS said the lynx captured were tame and were used to humans.
David Field, CEO of the RZSS, said there were two possible explanations for the illegal releases: “Sadly, there are rogue rewilders out there who bypass all the established international best practice and bypass all professional organisations which are discussing lynx coming back to Scotland. They are impatient and then proceed in a way which is this rebellious rogue rewilding. That’s really sad, and that’s a real, real risk.” Mr. Field added that it could also be animal abandonment by people who no longer want to take care of them.
Steve Micklewright, CEO of Trees for Life which is a member of the three-charity Lynx to Scotland partnership, said: “We await the post mortem results, but the tragic death of one of these beautiful, charismatic animals shows why illegal animal abandonment like this is so irresponsible and wrong…” The RZSS said the lynx would have been under great stress after being abandoned in a new and “extremely harsh” environment, which further demonstrates the problem with abandoning these animals in the wild
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