Swiss


The Balkan lynx, a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx, is a critically endangered animal that exists only in the bordered areas of Macedonia and Albania, possibly also stretching north into Kosovo and Montenegro. However, it has recently become apparent that there is only one remaining source population in the Mavrovo National Park of western Macedonia, according to a baseline survey and camera trapping carried out by ecologists in the area.


Rescuing the Balkan lynx


“We have known about the critical status of this subspecies for many years, but until recently it was almost impossible to work in these countries due to war and civil unrest,” says Dr Urs Breitenmoser. “About 6 years ago, we started projects with local partners in the area, and then 3 years later began a scientific project, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation in the frame of the SCOPES programme, alongside the existing conservation projects. It is through this scientific work that we have begun to draw a picture of the conservation status and ecology of this critically endangered species.” As well as the conservation, science and


awareness work, the Balkan Lynx Recovery Team has also been pushing to try and establish a greater number of protected areas in the border areas where the lynx are still at large. These areas, which are part of what was formerly known as the Iron Curtain, are lush in wildlife due to the fact that they were emptied of people during this time, with only military


62


controls remaining. The reduced human influence in these areas made them a bastion for endangered species such as the Balkan lynx. It is important now that those areas left untouched are protected for the future so that the flora and fauna can continue to flourish. “The baseline survey consisted initially of


talking to local people and trying to establish what they knew in terms of


surveys through interviews with people in the surrounding villages, finding out about when and where they had seen lynx, whether they had experienced livestock attacks from them, and also about what the lynx eat, which we now know is mainly roe deer, chamois and hares.” “After this, we defined the most promising


areas to start looking for the lynx using opportunistic


and deterministic camera


“The baseline survey consisted initially of talking to local people and trying to establish what they knew in terms of distribution and numbers of the lynx and its potential prey, as well as their attitudes towards them”


distribution and numbers of the lynx and its potential prey, as well as their attitudes towards them,” explains Breitenmoser. “We then defined an area of potential distribution, and carried out systematic


trapping, utilising a method by which you plant cameras according to a pre-defined plan to try and capture pictures of the animals. As well as this, we also captured 3 lynx and fit them with a GPS collar so that


Insight Publishers | Projects


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132