we could learn more about their spatial behaviour, hunting behaviour and about their land tenure systems.” The Balkan lynx was originally described
as a separate subspecies by a Bulgarian zoologist back in 1941 and again by a Serb scientist in 1971. However, this distinction was not widely recognised by Western scientists due to the obscurity of the publications and doubts about whether the Carpathian and Balkan lynx populations, which until a few decades before had overlapped in terms of distribution, could really be separate subspecies. It is only recently that genetic analysis in the frame of the on-going research programme has proven this to be true. However, the importance of keeping the Balkan lynx population alive is not only due to its status as a distinct phylogenetic unit, but also because the lynx are an integral and important part of the southwest Balkan ecosystem as a top predator. “We are now fairly certain that lynx reproduction is restricted to the Mavrovo
www.projectsmagazine.eu.com
“...we defined the most promising areas to start
looking for the lynx using opportunistic and deterministic camera trapping”
area,” explains Breitenmoser. “Camera
trapping has shown us that they do exist further east and west, but the likelihood is that these are just animals dispersing from this core zone. Although we know that they are still breeding in Mavrovo, our analysis of the population conservation status according to the IUCN Red List assessment
rules have concluded that there are no more than 20-44 lynx left in the whole area, putting the subspecies alarmingly close to extinction. If we cannot implement rigorous conservation and protection measures immediately, then it is likely that extinction will indeed be the outcome.” Several threats remain to the existence of
this tiny population of lynx. Illegal killing of the animals is still a problem despite their protected status, and although work to stop this has by and large been very successful, every individual lost is a huge blow to a population so small. On the Albanian side, habitat destruction through over exploitation of the forests and dwindling numbers of prey animals caused by unregulated hunting have both been a huge problem. However, the biggest threat to the
remaining core population today, is the construction of hydroelectric dams. “These dams pose a threat not just to the lynx but to all of the wildlife in the Mavrovo National Park,” says Breitenmoser. “The
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