The Eurasian lynx would be the wrong species of lynx to introduce. The UK's former lynx population was a distinct species which was closer genetically to the Iberian lynx than the Eurasian lynx. If we are going to do this then we should do it right.
I live in Finland and I'm 54 years old. Even if I'm not a hard core hiker, I do a fair bit of walking and running in the forest. Not quite daily, but definitely more often than once a week. The lynx population in Finland is around 2500 adults. I have never properly seen one. Once I have seen a glimpse, and once the footprints in the snow. They really are very secretive and pose no threat to humans whatsoever. There's absolutely no reason to fear them.
I live in Canada and can confirm. Despite ranging across the whole country and the population being high I’ve only seen them twice once I got a glimpse of one in the forest in northern bc and once crossing the road in the Rocky Mountains
And they're not even "not a threat to humans", in the way wolves are. Wolves are generally not a threat, but fatal attacks happen a few times per century(!) in very wolf-dense places, like Canada and Alaska. Lynx are not on record having ever killed a person, in recorded human history.
@ given lynx are only as big as a medium sized dog I doubt a lynx even with an ambush could kill a healthy adult person that biggest thing they’ve been known to hunt are smaller ungulates like deer or big horn sheep
Let's not beat around the bush. Here in Scotland most of the land is owned by a small number of rich people who only care about using that land for hunting. They want no competition from apex predators such as Lynx or Wolves and as they have land and money they have sufficient lobbying power for reintroduction to not happen. Until we significantly change that, nothing of any significance will happen.
Allow farmers to keep their IHT relief if they allow lynx's and prove they have breeding raptor pairs on their lands. Suddenly the aristocrats might suddenly change their minds and poisoning of raptors might decrease
sounds abit like you dont believe in personal property rights, and other rights that would 100% be broken if many of the things wanted happen. and i want lynx back! and i want people to be able to freely camp in wild areas, and keeping all walking paths through private land. so im split
@Enhancedlies lynxes can hardly threaten a person, unless they're cornered, which shouldn't happen often. You should still be very very safe in the area, they really don't pose an issue for people camping
@@Enhancedlies in sweden we have both bear, wolf and lynx. you're able to camp almost wherever you like out in the wild due to allemansrätten. you can have both. Most predators don't want to interact with people and stay away
I used to hear lynx calling here in West Wales every October/November time on the hillside above my smallholding. Usually, at night, about 8 pm till the early hours. My daughter, who worked with small cats at Port Lympne, identified the calls from the recordings I made. My partner had 2 sightings. One was in the evening whilst putting the chickens away for the night, and she disturbed an animal that looked like a lynx and ran off easily, clearing an electric fence before disappearing into a hedge. The other was when she was parked in a hilly wooded area on her mobile phone. She heard a loud bang on the cab roof and saw a lynx land on the road next to the pickup and run off down the hill. There are plenty of rabbits and deer where we live, and whenever the lynx would visit, the rabbits would disappear. We haven't heard the lynx for 3 years now, so we can only assume that it has died. We have been keeping poultry for over 20 years, and in that time, we have lost over 20 chickens to foxes. One or two were taken away, the rest were slaughtered or maimed and left. We lost our guinea fowl to hawks, and a small number of ducks to polecats. In each case, we knew what had happened. We have lost 3 chickens in circumstances where the causes were unknown. No traces were found, save for some scratches on top of a 6ft wooden fence. If these disappearances were due to lynx attacks, then I don't think one chicken every 6 or 7 years is too high a price to pay to have a small predator back in the UK.
Scotland has a massive deer problem that makes planting trees in unfenced areas virtually impossible, introducing the lynx is the perfect predator as they stay away from humans.
@@Vavala3534 domestic cats, they can clear out any feral cats that are killing our birds in huge numbers. Even the presence of Lynx will keep cats out of wild areas, the cats are petrified of a Lynx!!!
We have lynx in Finland. You can find their tracks in winter but you never see them. Never. In contrast to wolves and bears, nobody is scared of Lynx. Lynx kill young reindeer, but reindeer owners in Lappland are compensated by the government. The money is peanuts. Hunters like the lynx since they limit excessive populations. I love Lynx. They are cute. I know - I have seen them while watching BBC documentaries! 😊
Same in Sweden, noone is scared of lynx, there is a lot of controversy around the wolf reintroduction but none for the lynx. I spend a lot of time in the woods but I never see any lynx either, but I'm told I have to look up in the trees to see them, they climb and hide up there.
@@kallebirgersson710 the Swedish government have been killing of the wolf and lynx populations for years, allowing their populations to be culled to below sustainable levels to ensure sport hunters have enough deer and other ungulates to hunt. Also the reason Sweden and Norway has such a big problem with Chronic Wasting Disease which aren’t seen as frequently in areas with healthy wolf and Lynx populations
@kallebirgersson710 what reintroduction? Sweden's current wolves come from finland and have been in Sweden for near a decade, it's hardly a reintroduction hell they are regularly hunted officially to keep populations very low
I’ve said this before on another of your videos, but the sad truth is, nothing happens in this country unless there’s a financial incentive to do so. Money and profit governs decisions.
@Zooker25didn't beavers only happen because of illegal reintroduction? I even remember talk about whether to kill them because they hadn't been legally reintroduced
@novedad4468there’s been many ‘legal’ beaver releases over the past few years all across the country, the illegal releases have simply sped up the process and boosted the population
I live in an area of Germany with extensive woodlands. We have lynx for decades now, but i never heard anything negative about them. In fact, you don't hear about them at all. We can prove that they live and hunt here by the traces they leave behind - but they live in coexistence with humans, our infrastructure and our livestock. We also got a small amount of wolves around. I feel like the majority of people around me does not approve of wolves in our woods. There is no substantial evidence of wolves causing any harm to humans so far, most of the concerns come down to fear of the unknown or fear of change. Yes, wolves can harm livestock. Yes, wolves make deer behave more careful and make hunting for them more difficult. But also: careless deer ruin the tree saplings that our wood industry planted. And: bigger predators help the ecosystem by hunting old or sick herbivores and leave behind carcasses for smaller wildlife. There is pros and cons to everything. If you would value the work our woodland ecosystems do for us every day, it would outweigh the value of human made things we create every day. Enabling the woodland ecosystem to work better = more created value. (Value of clean water, wood, clean and cool air, recreational space, ...) I am fully convinced that wild lynx made a way for the wolves by making people aware of peaceful coexistence with larger predators. I couldn't imagine how much more drama we would have over wolves in our area, if we could not look back on decades of living with lynx.
Also hunters shouldn't want dumb deer that stay still for them to shoot, isn't like the whole thing feeling the thrill of the hunt? Anyways wolves are always taken as the big bad, but as we have seen when they get rid of wolves they start complaining about bears, then lynx and like that until there are no predators left, these are very big lobbies
@@Solstice261hunters want everything quick and easy and they seek just the thrill of taking the shot and the life. It’s why so many hunters in the US complain about wolves and the elk. They claim the elk is disappearing. No, a few packs of wolves in a huge area cannot destabilise the prey population. Hunters think they disappeared simply because you no longer have huge herds of not so clever elk stationary in the same field day after day, they’re on the move. Hunters are lazy
I lived in Germany for many years as a child in the 60's and 70's and used to go for walks through the forested areas with my parents. We often saw sign of Lynx but never saw one. Saw a few wolves over my time but they would run off into the denser wooded area off the tracks. Later as an adult I returned to Germany as a member of the British Army and would go running in and around Hermans Denkmal area and finally saw a Lynx but only fleetingly. As soon as it realised I was there it literally melted back into the forest. This was in the late 80's.
Even here in Alaska, where there are plenty of Canada lynx roaming around, you would be very fortunate to see a lynx. My father, who's lived here is whole life, has only seen one a few times. One time he actually saw a litter of lynx kittens crossing the road, which is the most extraordinarily lucky thing I've ever heard of.
@@markshrimpton3138 plenty of room for cats to hide. they are really sensitive to human activity though, and that seems to already be an issue for the little wildcats there, among other pressures I have read about. Essentially, rewilding is asking for a huge overhaul of practices and thinking when it comes to land use, access and how to share with "predators'. a real uphill battle
Spent my entire childhood in rural areas in Canada. I saw a lynx (or possibly a bobcat, their little cousin species) exactly one time in the wild, from a very far distance. They're around, and you'd never know it.
@@ethanchesser756there’s the Canada lynx which is only in the north of the continent and it’s fairly similar to Eurasian lynx though a bit smaller and stockier
Yes. I’m fairly observant, and when young did a lot of backcountry time alone. I’ve seen one lynx on foot, and a quick flash of one driving at night. More bobcats, in the Rockies. I’ve had cougars that have walked over my tracks in the snow, several times. Still haven’t seen one in the wild. Want to see game, go alone, and don’t look at your feet on the trail. I’d starve as a smuggler. I can’t imagine how you get a lynx onto Britain. If I saw one I think I’d keep my mouth shut.
I was portaging with friends in Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, Canada. The park has a more... cultivated area in the south for regular campers, but outside of that area it is pure wilderness. We were out there for 14 days, canoeing along the Petawawa River. We went for a day excursion to a place called Eustache Lake. All this time we had been tying our food up in trees to keep the bears from it, we had heard wolves howling at night (and howled with them.. that was fun) and saw all sorts of wildlife. It was at Eustache Lake that we came across a Canadian lynx. It was standing on a rock, in full view of us, and it was watching us. Then it turned and vanished. We we awestruck.. It was like being visited by an actual spirit of the forest.
@@markshrimpton3138 I was not drawing a comparison. Simply relating a wonderful experience I had with a lynx encounter :) The narrator was even asking for experiences from other parts of the world. And I am aware of the size comparison. All of Britain could fit within one tract of Canadian wilderness.
@@markshrimpton3138considering current attitudes and practices in land use there, forestry, agriculture, hunting and your wonderful public access to both public and private lands, any predators may be a hard sell. people will be scared. honestly though, like wildcats, lynx will almost never be seen and unlike wild boar, wolves and bears, they are really not dangerous in any capacity to people really, although domestic cats, small dogs and farm critters may have conflicts.
UK mindset when it comes to nature protection: All of UK: I care passionately about saving nature. Oh, those poor rhinos out in Africa being hunted for their horns! Oh, those poor tigers and orangutans going extinct because of poaching and palm oil! Oh, so sad! Weep weep! Also UK whenever the prospect of reintroducing wolves or lynx to the UK is brought up or they’re set free: Mass hysteria! Not here, thank you very much! Eeek! I don’t want them near me, thank you very much! Nature is not a pretty little garden for just “nice” animals like cute squirrels, rabbits, deer, ponies, birds, etc, but a network of ecosystems that relies on all native animals, including apex predators like wolves, lynx, etc, as well as “less cute” animals like rats, mice, spiders, cockroaches (in some parts), snakes, etc. If we’re going to care about nature (which we should and we need to), we need to care about ALL of nature and recognise the importance of ALL animals including ones we may be scared of.
@@Darkstar-se6wcwildcats are considerably smaller and have different prey, and both are shy, stealthy animals, so they aren't rivals in that sense. Main dangers to them is human encroachment leaving them insufficient space to roam, and pet-cat interbreeding which can both worsen their gene pool and also lead to their offspring being born at a pet cat home, being lost for the wild population. Lynx reintroduction would also help reduce deer overpopulation and overconfidence, thereby reducing overgrazing and thus helping restore eaten-away understory plants, which increases biodiversity and habitat for various small animals. And more small animals means more food for predators like the wildcat.
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@@Darkstar-se6wc feral cats are the biggest threat to Wildcats.
People need to make the connection between what they're eating and the effect it has on nature. Britain's ecology has been destroyed by livestock farming, specifically sheep farming. No one should cry about the state of UK wildlife and then go order lamb at the pub that same afternoon.
"Mass hysteria! Not here, thank you very much!" Is that really true, or is it a hysterical response from a small minority? (Genuine question, I've not been able to find any survey data). To be fair, some of the most hysterical people will be those who are most likely to be most affected, so I'm not saying they should be ignored.
Some people forget that, while domesticated, dogs are still predators. I genuinely don't understand how some just let their dogs go on an odyssey and think to themselves 'Yeah... he won't misbehave while he's like a kilometre away from me.' Unless you've actually taken the time to train your dog then just don't do this shit.
I live in Scotland. I am not against reintroducing species to our nation that were once here. However, it must be done properly. It is my understanding that the lynx in question were released without re-acclimating them to a wild existence and were previously kept & fed by humans.
scottish wildcats are being released after captive breeding, its easy enough to not ingrain humans on cats of all sizes. They are naturally both predator and prey species, an unusual niche that gives them very complex behavior strategies and are very wary of humans in general. Truth is, if its done as a "hard release" some of those animals are simply not going to make it. a soft release would be better for the cats, and you know they would be monitored closely. those lynx in that video looked like they were just dumped there like trash there is no way to track them and tell if they are making it. Thats why it needs to be done with care and foresight into the best possible survivable situation.
They are not first to rewild lynx, we had a very slow population in eastern bavaria, in first years they rewildered wild carpatic lynx and tried to rewild some from enclosures. There was only one who slept just on the roof of a neighbouring farm after enjoying one of his chicken...and in a second ocassion it was brought back to enclosure. Now the breeding programs of the local lynx is done in a very different way and this animals dont have close contact to people, the food, also living food is brought to them in tunnel and they are just rewilded when catching its living prey and not associate food with humans etc. Also the smaller iberian lynx has multiplicated from 90 to 1000 today by rewilding in this way, think they will get lots of information before rewilding a lynx, to set free a "pet" could be a quick death for a rare and valuable animal and is sensless ;)
Held eye contact for 10s with a lynx about 20m from me once. Most significant nature experience I’ve had. My family has sheep, never seen tracks of lynx close to our pastures. A lot of roe deer in the area. Western Sweden.
Hi , I thought you might like to know I saw a lynx, or at least very much a lynx type , about 5 times in the late 90s on Wenlock Edge. We owned The Wenlock Edge Inn and I watched our car park across the road from the bar, keeping an eye on customers' cars.My father saw it a couple of times. I think it was living in our car park and was hunting rabbits when I saw it. This was during the day time.Our car park had a huge pile of limestone that we were storing there. These were big slabs on which grass had started to grow and had lots of small cave like areas within the pile (tons of the stuff !). I also saw it hunting down in the woods as it chased rabbits across the old railway line below the Edge. This line had become a bridlepath and was the only bit of the Edge that was clear of vegetation. I felt it had probably been in captivity at one time due to the fact it did not seem overly afraid of humans , or cars, but did avoid direct contact.At this time Wenlock Edge was little used and the whole area had an abundance of rabbits. I did not mention it at the time because the local farmers were always one step away from paranoia about their sheep and lambs. Stray dogs were occasionally a problem, but the idea of a lynx...? I thought the lynx had a fine diet of rabbit which were defenceless compared to the lambs which were staunchly defended by their mothers.It was around 3 to 6 months and then not seen again.
As an american who regularly deals with much larger predators (miltary kid so ive lived in the native range of all north-american predators) and, in case being a subscriber here didnt give it away, i spend a lot of time in nature. The fact that yall are scared of a lynx is actually funny to me (like in a sad way, but very on brand for the pastoral isle) A lynx is at more risk from you throwing away squid guts at a seafood restaurant (uncooked squid is poisonous to felines) or driving a car than they would ever pose a risk to you. Yall can literally just add a llama or donkey to your sheep and that will largely keep them safe. I genuinely dont get it.
One of my biology tutors at uni joked that he's surprised we don't try to eradicate bees from this country, because they sting us sometimes... ironically bees actually ARE more dangerous than lynx, since they do sting and sometimes kill people.
Well you see western culture just really REALLY hate nature. It like pretty garden with trimmed hedge. They hate wilderness, they want a tamed, declawed, clean landscape.
I know, and it's very sad to those of us who understand this. I think we've lived so long without anything bigger than a fox (and having even hunted those for centuries) that the thought of any predator is scary to a lot of people because of the fear of the unknown. Never mind that if lynx did live here that you'd almost never see one even if you went looking for one. Hell, we can't even get beavers properly reintroduced and they're not danger to people at all. Sigh.
As a fellow American that grew up in California and currently lives in San Diego; I was initially afraid of, and steadily more fascinated by mountain lions being our resident Apex predator, until Black Bears began to make a comeback near San Francisco, where I grew up in the past several years. Them, bobcats, wolves making a steady comeback, and how to deal with non-native feral pigs in the American context, (versus Europe and Asia where they are native), are our wild frontiers to be re-embraced. For continental Europeans that live in recovering lynx territory, let it be central, or eastern Europe with the eurasian lynx, or Spain and Portugal where the Iberian lynx is making a comeback; I want to believe that living among them is like living among mountain lions and bobcats for us Americans. Bobcats are the lynx’s smaller American cousin, that lives all over the continental US, while the larger mountain lion that is distantly related to cheetahs, is mostly in the western US with the exception of the Florida Panthers, and mountain lions that have dispersed to the Eastern US in a few cases. Either way, the mountain lion is our reliable deer predator, unless there are other targets like American elk, or bison and moose in some cases, let alone mustang horses. The bobcat I have found, is our reliable hyper carnivorous meso-predator that is committed to hunting small to medium sized prey I read, with the occasional deer I have also heard. Penasquitos Canyon is a large nature River valley park, north of downtown San Diego that I sometimes hike, and there are simply warning signs to safely deal with the three predators that sometimes live there that are mountain lions, bobcats, and coyotes. With proper education and understanding of the importance of predators in their ecosystems and safety precautions; it is possible to coexist with them. I am yet to visit Yellowstone to get the experience of living among wolves and grizzly bears that I hope will ever return or be reintroduced to California.
@@31Blaize A guy in Belarus was actually killed by a beaver in 2013. But it was because he literally grabbed it and picked it up to pose for a photo, allegedly while he was intoxicated. He received very deep bite wounds and died from blood loss because he couldn't reach a hospital in time. So I think the rest of us are probably safe from the beaver menace (unless we're a tree). That also makes beavers officially 100% more deadly than lynx.
Want to hear a wild story? This happened in Ohio. A farmers sheep kept going missing. He checked his fences, didnt find bones or any remains so didnt think it was a predator. He got dogs and geese. months went by and sheep kept going missing. Eventually he got cameras. Sheep kept going missing. He spend hours watching back the camera footage and seen a SCHOOL BUS, pull up every morning to pick up kids on the corner part of his property. And on the buses return, would stop, climb the fence, and steal a sheep.. Like wtf man.. only in Ohio... it like 15 sheep.. not just one.. LOL
@@glenncordova4027 Does that matter? I think the Spanish have realised that a thriving wildlife is just as important to mass tourism for the future of the country.
@@chrisvalford Absolutely! You only have to read the excellent Spanish wildlife magazine "Quercus" to get some appreciation for the calibre of professionals and well-prepared amateurs involved as never before.
@@chrisvalford Spain still kills wolves that cross a certain line, in the south wolves are extinct now. So Spain is really a mixed picture. But the lynx protection was quite a success, in 2018 I was even able to take photos of a wild lynx in Andalusia.
@ yes, as a photographer I would love to spend a few weeks there. The Mediterranean where I live side is not so good, even today they still don’t know what wild life is here.
This is the first video of yours that I have watched. As a Brit, I was naturally intrigued as this story is in the news at the moment. I imagine a few other Brits will be watching for similar reasons. I was rightfully sceptical of you knowing _the_ _truth_ about these lynx releases, as no one else seems to at the moment and it came as no surprise that you didn't have any information. Aside from the Molyneuxesque clickbait title, this was a really interesting video and the links in the description were useful. I know the algorithm is king but you could pick a better title. As I imagine, like myself, there will be a few first time viewers, you should introduce yourself and tell people why you are qualified to talk on the subject, otherwise it is just a man with a camera's opinion. I have subscribed and look forward to more information on this subject. I'm now going to watch some of your other videos.
I fundamentally wanted to reach as many people as possible to educate and address misinformation on the topic. UA-cam is a game of attention & views… often done without much purpose. As for qualifications, I’ve certainly done my time :) got more videos coming on this topic too.
@@LeaveCurious You have my attention and views. I wasn't questioning your qualifications, merely saying you should let your audience know who you are and why they can be confident you know what you are talking about. Roll on future lynx videos, I know very little about this subject and look forward to learning more
I feel like we need a David Attenborough documentary about reintroductions and the benefits it could bring! That would change public opinion faster than anything else I also feel like we really need to see pictures of Lynx alongside things with a set size? Like they're usually shown in the wild, but trees/rocks/grasses can be varying sizes and it gives the impression that they're much bigger than they actually are
I wish you good luck and persistency to bring the lynx back to the UK. I live in Germany close to the Harz mountains National Park where wild lynx were brought back to nature about 25 years ago. The project is very successful and there is also a fenced enclosure with lynx from a zoo whose purpose is to promote acceptance by the local people. These animals are so beautiful, they live very hidden, and never attack humans. Once I was extremely lucky to have a very close encounter with a wild lynx, which was really impressive, and two times I saw their remarkably large footprints in fresh snow. Apart of some rare events of a killed farm animal, the lynx has only positive effects on nature. You need some courageous people to bring the lynx also back to the UK!
We live in Argyll, Scotland. I get eat a lit of riad kill venison because thrre are far too many deer here. That's most Roe deaths, but also have Sika in the freezer. I haven't picked up a Red because there's so much meat to process. I love venison, but would prefer less were hit because the Lynx were taking them instead. Many of the woodlands have little understorey because of overgrazing by deer. Bring tne Lynx back. Haven't heard the tourism angle before
Yes, they talked about trialing lynx in Kielder forest and the Spadeadam Waste, and people I knew actually though it could lead to diversification for the farmers, almost like birdwatching, laying on accommodation and hide's, but I understand the sheep farmers stimied the plan.
In Portugal and Spain, twenty years ago the Iberian lynx population was less than 100 Individuals, in 2022 the population is 1668 individuals, thanks to the hard work of professionals!
In Atlantic Canada we have both Lynx and Cougars/Panthers. I've hunted and trapped and camped and hiked and snowmobiled for decades and never seen one of these beautiful cats. Our giant Moose and large black bears are more of a threat, yet It is extraordinarilly rare to run into one of those either.
@@markshrimpton3138 I think the point being that these animals are very shy and will avoid people if they can at all help it. Scotland would have to build conservation spaces for larger animals into any land planning though. I saw a video that a new windfarm is being planned adjacent to some new wildcat habitat and its bad news for this new little population of wildcats, and the advocacy groups seem to have lost out on protecting them. wild felines are sensitive to human land use, so planning in a smaller space like the highlands would be critical to make sure populations have broad access to help maintain genetic diversity.
@@Bringon-dw8dx sheep will follow their guardian dogs, might not even need border collies if done right. walk the guardian where you want them to go and the sheep follow. the sheep know they are protected and will even seek out their LGD's when lambing.
Greetings from Norway, Lynx is like you said a very ilusive animal. Here in Norway people say that you can wonder around in the woods for a lifetime without ever seeing one. I was lucky myself just once to see a lynx standing by the side of the road as I was on my way home through some woods by car. It stared my straight in the eyes as if it was expecting me to stop so that it could cross. Probably on the hunt and got interrupted by the road. Just there the road took a swing so I couldn't stop. Fantastic creature.
It was cruel to the Lynx themselves. Unless they're accustomed to hunting, they were not going to thrive - possibly not even survive. I'm still incredibly excited at reintroduction efforts. Folks have been doing terrific volunteer work in Scotland, and shown how to work with local government. I'm rooting for the program from the other side of the world, the Pacific Northwest, USA.
They actually hunt naturally , the rabbit and deer population eat grass ,shrubs etc and the lynx will naturally predate them , domestic cats predate its still natural to them .
@@tonimor9721 Domestic cats have the opportunity to take the time to learn how to hunt as they will not starve if they fail to catch any prey for a week or two.... Wild animals WILL.... There is an important difference there....
It's sad to see how the agonizingly slow work of the uk government makes people take this decisions. Reintroductions need to be scientifically sound, and with the cooperation of local stakeholders, and this isn't the way. But by being so incompetent and counterproductive, the uk government had it coming. There's a limit to people's patience.
if its not a priority that people will be vocally in favor of, it doens't matter where you live, environmental concerns are put on the back burner. Always and everywhere. But. if nature gets a chance to work properly, she is aggressive about taking it all back, whether we like it or not.
@@maryobrien5568 need to be uk wide decision as the cat could easily migrate south f living in the cold rainy scotland let go south the cat probably. plus if they did migrate the place they move to might not be happy and complain, so it has to be a uk wide choice.
What interests me most, is where were these illegally released lynx sourced from? You can't just bring them into the country without specifying the reason for it, and I'm fairly sure there aren't sufficient numbers in captivity in the UK - which in any case would make the animals easily traceable
I assume its not hard to bring one over when its young. There is alot more cat breeds than people assume so i cant see anyone at the border questioning anything. Im sure there is a big captive population too however.
I live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. All across the nation restoration folks in all of the niches in the complex problems humans have created are recognizing how little things have huge effects. Beavers restoring riparian habitat, helping restore aquifers, mitigate flooding, and more. Wolf re-introduction to Yellowstone solved a huge number of problems in erosion control, overpopulation, habitat loss. The same things with wolf reintroduction from farmers and ranchers as you have. Bobcats have not completely disappeared here I think they are sized between your wild cat and Lynx. Coyotes are at the edges of most communities with only night workers noticing them.
It's worth pointing out that since the video was made another two illegally released lynx have been captured and one of the four has died, apparently of starvation. Personally I don't have an issue with reintroducing lynx - they could help to control deer numbers and unlike beavers they don't cause problems like flooding - but it has to be done properly.
What a richness Lynx would bring to the wild landscape of Scotland and they would enjoy hunting the young deer. The landowners who are freaking out about their livestock being killed are in a panic about nothing.
livestock owners here have adapted to large predators including bear and coyotes. most cattle are not bothered, sheep and goats are more likely to be targeted, but good fencing, livestock guardian dogs, donkeys and llamas and sheltered lambing barns help
I live in the US in bobcat country. I spend a lot of time outdoors and have only seen one bobcat in four decades. I lived in the north for a while where there are bobcats and Canada lynx. I never saw one and I really wanted to see one so I kept an eye out always. The concerns about lynx are out of proportion in my opinion. I hope you let them back in the UK some day. Good luck!
I've just found this channel and it has explained the issue better than anything I have seen on mainstream media. So I've subscribed. I also like the brief aside to look at the wood-ants nest. That is what being in nature is about, finding something unexpected and taking a moment to admire it.
Awesome, welcome! I should make some content where I just frolic in nature - doesn't necessarily do all that well on youtube though, but maybe for the members it be good :)
When you said, it’s in a consultation stage… my immediate reaction “it’s not going to happen for decades”… no bureaucrat will want to make that decision because we live in a nanny state and some people might be scared and negative about it. They are going to keep it in the feedback loop for as long as possible and then pass it to someone else… the health and safety will prevail 😢 it would’ve been better if the partisan lynx were properly wild but I hope they can find their feet now that they are here…
0:41 ok let's be careful in what we're saying here. There's no evidence to confirm that this was some kind of rogue rewilding attempt. Assumptions that this was the case could be very damaging to the UK Lynx reintroduction plans and the wider UK rewilding movement. I think the information we have points to someone dumping animals they could no longer keep - animals they didn't have a license for. The proximity of the release site to the Highland Wildlife park, to me, suggests that whoever left them wanted them to be found and taken in by the park. Anyone serious enough about rewilding would have done a much better job, I believe. They'd have chosen a more remote release site for starters, let alone release lynx that are clearly very habituated to humans. Basic research would have shown this to be a bad idea. Sadly, one of these lynx has died. People opposed to reintroducing lynx are using this mess as an opportunity to undermine legitimate reintroduction plans.
It is rogue rewilding. If you don't own it, you can't just release animals on it. If they were such a great asset they wouldn'thave been wiped out. Release some in your hallway@HarryYV
I was in the Kyle of Sutherland in Scotland. I know tracks well. Fox ,deer ,badger ,squirrel, hare ,rabbit, dog , running jumping stalking . I found tracks around a deer carcass after snow 1 of Jan. I didn't recognise the tracks at all. Very interesting.
As a young(ish) Scottish person I personally would love to see Scotland become a true wilderness again, the barrenness of some places like in the Cairngorms is a sad sight sometimes. But as some have said, money is the biggest hurdle to changing peoples minds on things like the lynx. Keep up the good work and hopefully some minds will begin to change 🏴
I live in Devon, been watching you for a while now Rob and I'm always delighted to get rewilding updates from you. The lynx is always a case that interests me, I would love to know they're wild and free in Britain.
I’ve personally seen one on the outskirts of Gloucester a few months ago. I imagine it was probably released under the same circumstances, either that or it was someone’s pet. Though from what I saw myself & also from what I’ve read in the local papers, it seems to be doing well.
As always, you can place the blame pretty squarely on rich landowners, many of whom are landed gentry or part of the royal family, wanting to monopolise the land for their own use then deflecting blame by pointing to a cause celeb like ordinary farmers or right to roam laws.
as an american, where there are so many restrictions on private property land access, it was really surprising to hear just how little of scotland's land is actually not privately held. Mostly because you have rights of access we don't really have here, so that line appears blurred. Its been interesting finding out about the rewilding there. any where you go and say 'predator reintroduction' you will get a fear based push back from all sectors. though. The predators here repopulated themselves, whether people approved or not, but by and large we have all settled in together. farmers adapted, hikers/campers adapted, and we all laugh about the morons who get stomped on because they didn't think the moose was dangerous.
the rich are likely the once activly wanting them back for envorimental reason and votes, the local people Don't as it a danger to endangerd animals already here and a risk to public safety, plus we got rid of them for a reason.
I live in the UK now. But growing up in Poland and going to camp in the wilderness every year, ive seen maybe one lynx, wolf and bear in my whole life. Brits have nothing to fear unless youre planning to bring back boar xD
Since this video was updated 2 other Lynx were caught bringing the total to four. Sadly one died whilst in the care of veterinarian and wildlife staff. They believe that the animals were ‘domesticated’ in the sense that they were not afraid of humans, in fact they were looking for food. It was tragic that whoever released them did so when Scotland had experienced its coldest spell of weather in 15 years. The nighttime temperature went down to approx -15 C. I am all for reintroduction of the lynx and hope that the Scottish Government agree with the consensus but I am also a strong supporter of releasing the animals under a controlled environment. Illegal introductions are not in the interests or welfare of the animals. In these examples, the poor animals would not have survived as they had obviously relied on humans to provide their food and had no hunting skills.
I did a project in Sixth Form about lynx reintroduction back in 2019. I got 'The Lynx and Us' and absolutely loved it. I was disappointed that the trial reintroduction was shot down by the Conservative government, and have been waiting ever since for some more news on the issue. That said, I live far away from Scotland so it's easy for me to say it's a good idea when I wouldn't suffer the consequences. The illegal releases were irresponsible but at least I hope they'll reignite the conversation.
@Lewis_Standing releasing them in freezing winter conditions when they're presumably accustomed to being fed by humans instead of hunting for their food was setting them up at best for suffering and at worst for starvation
@@Lewis_Standing Additionally, this would be missing out on opportunities to research and collect data about the lynx. We don't even know how many there are out there, let alone what they're doing. Data collection would be vital for lynx becoming established in Britain in the long term, as it would inform policies and further conservation action.
@@Lewis_Standing A few reasons. 1) Animals raised for release into the wild have to be raised with minimal possible human contact, and with the maximum possible chances for them to learn the skills they will need to survive in the wild. While the basic hunting instincts are present in all cats, it takes experience and time to hone those instincts properly. In the wild this will be done by the mother teaching her young how to hunt. You have to mimic that process as much as possible in animals you intend to release into the wild. If you do not, most will starve to death. 2) Disease, specifically Rabies. Rabies was eliminated from the UK in 1922, its the very reason our Quarantine laws exist. We DO NOT WANT RABIES BACK thankyou very much. Can you be sure that a smuggled animal is free of rabies? The illegally released animals are simply not suitable for release into the wild, and the likelihood is they would have all died of starvation. They have also not been vetted to be clear of rabies. Those are the two main reasons illegal release is irresponsible. I WANT to see Lynx reintroduced into the UK, but illegal and improper releases are NOT the way to do it. It needs to be a properly planned and executed reintroduction strategy.
Why is building trust always an issue? Yet it never seems to come up when governmental agencies are seemingly dragging their heels and don't communicate (well) at all? People notice these things. If not directly then indirectly and frustration starts building up. If this goes on long enough people feel justified to act themselves. I'd argue that there was a betrayal of trust from the government over a long time that kick started this....
Absolutely tragic the way the farming community do not see the benefits of releasing Lynx. In this day and age when we have such an appalling government targeting the farmers, they need a different income stream. Ecotourism is the way forward for them and a healthy population of Lynx would bring in more income and be more nature-positive than sheep everywhere. I live next to where the Beavers 'appeared' in Devon and the boost to nature and the economy is huge, bringing in millions and more diversity not just with nature but in types of tourism which this area relies on. Leave the Lynyx alone and release more, we will all benefit. You only have to see the news on how we have messed up nature, if there is a future for humans on the planet then we have to restore the damage we have done, like we have at The Seahorse Trust. Thanks for your informative work Leave Curious brilliant balanced videos.
I'm from Slovakia(46). I've never heard of a lynx killing a pet nor a farm animal. I don't know anyone who saw one , never heard of lynx attacking a human. They are so secretive it is very hard to spot one. Definitely no reason to be afraid of their reintroduction in Scotland. And it is quite similar with wolves to be honest.
I have had two sightings over the last six years. One in South Herefordshire and one in North Herefordshire. They were both early morning encounters around 04.30.
The major resistance from lynx reintroduction is farmers "What about our livestock?" and the thing is, they do have a point. The way to solve their concern is to change the law on guard dogs so that livestock guardian dogs (LGD) can be used as they are intended and that is to live with the herds and protect them from predators. And LGD are HIGHLY effective, many LGD breeds are breed to fight bears, let alone wolves and lynx.
Indeed, but lynx exist in other nations and there is little to no issue. Farmers are compensated. But British Gov plc has money a plenty for WMD and protection of their pals' interest.
It’s important to recognise the difference between the various deer species. They would certainly have an impact on roe deer (native) and sika (non native) as both favour woodland and are within a size range that lynx could successfully hunt as an ambush predator. Fallow deer are relatively scarce in Scotland and so can effectively be discounted. However, lynx would have virtually no effect on red deer numbers due to the fact that in most areas they live on the open hill making ambush difficult and, apart from juveniles, are probably too large for a lynx to regularly kill. Red deer also live in forested areas and here a few juveniles might be taken. The other issue is that the current environment is very different to that in which the last Scottish lynx existed. We now have livestock farming adjacent to most areas where roe deer live, roe are perfectly happy in hedgerows and are often found in areas of mixed woodland and farmland and I’m afraid that the lynx will not have read the rules and will inevitably kill the much easier to catch sheep that are farmed nearby. Very few reintroductions go well and whilst on paper there seems to be some merit, in practice things could go horribly wrong. If a reintroduction was to be tried at all the huge Kielder Forest in Northumbria with a decent roe population would be a much better bet.
I live in a country with not only wild lynx but also grey wolves and brown bears. Your chance of encountering either of the first two mentioned is about zero. They are very shy and avoid you at all cost. Brown bear is also mostly unproblematic except where stupid people feed them and for some reason refuse to lock their garbage. In that case bear will associate people with easy meal and because it is a large animal aware of its power, it might become aggressive.
My region of Sweden is about 8000 km2 and has a population of 400 000 people and 85 lynxes. Last year in this region, one sheep was killed and two hunting dogs were attacked while hunting lynx. Both dogs survived. I couldn't find information on how many sheep there are in my region, but overall, most (all?) sheep are killed when the farmer doesn't have proper predator resistant fencing. My dad has lived in this region for 65+ years, he's a hard core bird watcher, and is outdoors a lot!! And the last 15 years he's lived in the real countryside (only forests and fields visible from the house) and he owns a few sheep. Throughout all his life he has only seen lynxes twice and neither were even close to where he keeps his sheep. You really don't notice the lynxes. You can fit in a lot of lynxes, humans and sheep in the same area and, with proper fencing, you would hardly know they are there. Financially supporting farmers to put up fences and compensate them for killed sheep is the best way to go imo.
Interesting on so many levels. The night before the story of the released lynx was in the paper, I had a really vivid dream about a lynx I'd spotted near my home. It was so vivid, it seemed real. This lynx in my dream had a radio collar. I must stress that prior to this dream, I hadn't heard anything about these lynxes in Scotland. Hmmm... Back in 2001, I did my Ecotourism MSc thesis on the impact of wolves, bears and lynx in Slovakia. There, the main problem was wolves, but there was a programme which, alongside compensating sheep farmers, instructing them on effective and appropriate fences (they were very free-range over there), equipped farmers with livestock guarding dogs. They used Slovak Cuvac dogs, and were helped with training and food costs. This seems to work really well and has cut down on a lot of the livestock-predator conflicts. Another thing that you mentioned in this video, which found to be true about predators is that as long as their natural prey is abundant, then they will tend to avoid livestock, so trying to get hunters on board was another challenge, as they felt they competed for deer. It was all a bit bonkers. The deer were killing the trees, so they wanted to get the deer numbers down, but didn't want the wolves to do it as the hunters wouldn't have anything to hunt.... Back then I lived in the UK, but now live in the Italian Apennines, where we have our tiny Apennine wolves. The sheep flocks are protected by Maremmano dogs, which are really similar to Cuvac. Officially there are no lynx, but anecdotally people say they've seen them. Either way, their range is expanding and I hope they eventually arrive here. I've seen one wolf since I've been here. Loads of poo, loads of tracks, and if you go to the other side of the valley at night, you're sure to hear them calling. It's magical.
I live in Switzerland and there are lynx in the area but I've never seen one and never met anyone who has seen one. Super difficult to notice. One effect you might get that would be that the deer might move around more -- a "culture of fear" effect. This tends to be beneficial as it stops the deer overgrazing a specific area.
Kampinos forest, just couple miles west of Warsaw, Poland has a lynx population thanks to successful reintroduction of this species in 90s. Only records of their presence are the photos from photo-traps and films published on the park website. Haven’t heard about any issues or danger posed by lynx to humans. Visiting the park however I always feel this excitement of sharing the space with such wonderful animal.
We bought a zoo is a film based of a certain zoo. The old owner in question was a friend’s uncle. Got to see some cool things years ago and discover there’s an underworld with big cats. There’s a lot of people who don’t know the half of it. under their nose. Exotic pets are just something else.
In Canada our Lynx almost exclusively hunt Snowshoe Hare, so every time I have watched a video about reintroduction of Lynx to Britain and hear that the European Lynx hunts deer it just sounds so strange. There is a well known cycle of population boom and bust for the Snowshoe Hare and the Lynx, lasting about 9 to 11 years.
Eurasian Lynx is twice as big as Canadian version. This is why that species can hunts deers. I live in the area where Lynxes were released in 2012. There is zero issues with that animal. I have never seen one and I do not now any person who seen that cat. There is no interaction with domestic animals to. Tho we do not have sheeps here. They are in the area, but I now this only because one Lynx was found sick maybe thirty kilometers from my home. It feel better now and will be released into the wild in March. I've hope I wrote this in understandable way. I am trying to not use trsnlator :) Greetings from Poland!
@@krasnyp6176 Although it's clear that English is not your first language, you seem to have a firm grasp of it and I understood you just fine. Kudos for avoiding the translator! I never knew that about Eurasian Lynx being twice as big. I've always known the Canadian Lynx and even did research on the snowshoe hare/lynx population cycle. The lynx is my spirit animal for sure.
@@RossRadford And just a side not unlike the bobcat or canadian lynx, the eurasian lynx is in most part of europe the second largest predator besides the wolves and in other parts only the third largest when brown bears are still in those parts. In some cases even the only top predator where wolves and bears are gone. And the eurasian lynx often hunts roe deer, hares and rarely juvenile/young wild boar.
a study done here in MA on bobcats indicated that their primary diet was deer. our deer are pretty big. that take down has to be one hell of a wild ride. I have yet to hear a single hunter complain about other predators taking "their" deer anymore. we have a very healthy woodland and population of good healthy deer. we also have a 3 month coyote season in winter, and although it times with breeding season, I don't think it seriously impacts the coyote populations.
same, i cant imagine a cat even one of it size Hunting a dear or stag, those deer are big here in scotland. that and kinda rooting for the stags since it my clans crest.
My area of the northeast U,S, has a sizable population of bobcats and maybe a few canadian lynx. I have seen bobcats twice in my life. Once a kitten running across the road in front of my car. Once an adult walking down my driveway into the woods. As far as lynx living in Britain. That report of a hair being found near a sheep kill and the DNA test coming back as panthera gives life again to those Beast of Bodmin stories. If leopards can secretly roam the english countryside without causing a stir, Scotland should well be a match for lynx.
Im spaniard and we are seeing the effect of the Iberian Lynx reintroduction on smaller predators that you talk about and is true. Especially with the Meloncillo (Egyptian Mongoose) that took the place of the Lynx as predator. The places where the Lynx hunt now are instantly abandoned by the mongooses who contrary to the Lynx they prey farming animals like chickens and even small lambs because they prey in groups unlike the Lynx. That's why the farmers are delighted with the reintroduction of the Lynx.
It feels a fantasy to have such a magnificent animal like the Lynx back in the UK because the fear is the land is used primarily for the tiny rich minority who would rather shoot a bird in a barrel than have a healthy ecosystem.
If from an urban person, in the environment that is intentionally utterly destroyed for most species (not all, foxes, rats, cats, dogs etc thrive in cities), the snide reference to landowners who manipulate their own land to benefit some types of wildlife is rich. Many other native species benefit from this.
@@johnmead8437 It's rich from a rural person to claim that they care at all or help at all the native species when they'll only help a select few, screw over the rest, refuse to budge, claim "they're feelings get hurt", but don't care if they're hurting anyone or anything else.
4 Lynx have now been trapped, all appear to be in good health and are being looked after by the proper authorities and will be placed in suitable captive homes after they have gone through a period of quarantine. At least that is the current news on them at the moment. I would love to see more wild animals back in the UK. It’s nice to hear that tne Beavers are doing well, and having lived close to the Forest of Dean, it seems like the Boar are benefiting the forest, after a bit of a rough start, but that was an illegal release as well. My big concern with the Lynx that were illegally released is not only for their health and well being, had they learnt to hunt and look after themselves, but if they were used to people, and particularly if they associated people with food, then they might approach people when they got hungry, and there is a chance the people would panic, particularly if there were children, and that is when some one could get hurt. A child getting scratched would undo decades of work trying to convince people that Lynx aren’t dangerous. Any Lynx released has to know how to survive alone, and to be wary of humans. A Feral animal is always more dangerous than a Wild one.
We have Pumas here in the Preseli Hills in west wales. Ive seen them twice now in just three years of living here. Both times eating a sheep in my neighbours field. Both times were not my neighbours sheep but a sheep from further up the preselli's. Our farm is right on the edge of the national park. I have one time on camera but my pixel 6 decided it was a nokia 3310 for unknown reasons. You can barely make out the tail. Its common amongst the farmers to see big cats are taking sheep. TBH neither time have i felt worried more awe. I dont know if they are officially recognised yet but defiantly here. Also supposed populations of Pumas and Lynx in North Wales. I probably didn't believe it before moving here from essex but the whole family has seen them with our own eyes.
@JimFinch . Great recollections. We have Black Leopards in the West Midlands. I've seen two over the years, and know a few other reliable people who have.
Restoring the Lynx would be a benefit all round, sick elderly deer are removed, they will also help trees to recover as the damage the deer do to saplings and then we can have the wonderful return to nature as we should have on this island, we have taken so much , its time to put back and that includes the gorgeous Scottish Wild Cat ...
Perhaps a good thing to do is to have a nice fireside chat with the people who live off the land that reintroduced animals would inhabit. A often undiscussed aspect is that Landowners, Gamekeepers and Farmers will often be comfortable with an number of creatures living alongside with the caveat that they will in future be able to lawfully control numbers. Once a species is given legal protection and then if it becomes an obvious menace , it is very difficult to reverse the protection. I'm not just talking about Lynx, judging by your post here they appear to be of little concern and moderate benefit. But I don't have skin in the game other than taking pleasure in seeing a very healthy head of wildlife where I live and also have a lot of respect for the skill, work ethic and often misunderstood people who manage land either via hunting or farming. These people really know their stuff, they have to because their often somewhat humble lives depend on this land.
Man, everyone talking about how elusive lynx are just really reminds me of where i live. Canadian Arctic, everytime, and i mean everytime ive gone to our small ski/walking trail ive seen at least one Canadian Lynx. Just chilling, hunting the hares you can sometimes see. If you make eye contact, even if its just for a second, they get nervous and leave, i always feel so bad for freaking 'em out but its for the best Edit:spelling
And in Sweden the government let hunters kill half of the wolf population because 'it's dangerous' even when it's still illegal. 😥 You should teach them a lesson ecology...
Despite lynx being notorious for not really meddling with humans but hey, Sweden has a big hunting and livestock lobby so they allow excessive hunting of basically any predator
Sweden had a fairly in famous case where someone had killed a mother wolf, then took pity on a cub, brought it home, and attempted to bring it up as a dog. Community found out and it were determined the then adolescent wolf should be euthanised. The wolf's keeper said he would do so, and was trusted to do such. But he just released it into a wild.... Not long afterwards dogs started going missing. Then attacks on humans started. Children were killed. Even adults were killed. A wolf was seen around that was seen to be becoming increasing braisen and aggressive towards humans Understandable panic set in, as attacks on humans continued to escalate, and a wolf was seen prowling around village. Wolf was seen attacking. And dragging off children. People would barricade themselves in after dark etc. And go out in groups and kill fully wild wolves daytime. After that continued for months they eventually found a lone wolf was actually living in the village under the houses. It had zero fear of humans. When it was killed...attacks stopped. It's thought that dangerous wolf was the one which as a cub had been attempted to domesticated and then was reintroduced to the wild without 1) skills it would need to hunt 2) little fear of humans. And that combination resulted in behaviour quite different from wild wolves, who hadn't interacted with humans much at all. Point to take away is That extremely poorly managed release into the wild, caused harm to humans. The wolf itself. And many many other wolves due to fear of what wolves can do(abet in unusual circumstances.) It's also a strong cautionary tale why it would be utter idiocy releasing lynx without careful monitoring. We might be sure wild born& raised lynx should be OK...but we don't how reintroduced lynx will behave. Plus even if things happen to turn out ok, unofficial releases aren't gonna generate acceptible evidence that releases are OK.
@@stevecummins324 In my country they reintroduced the lynx a few years ago. There were no attacks on humans or livestock, so I think it's going well. We also have or had (idk if they are still alive) a few wolves. A few sheep were killed but that's it. So controlled reintroduction can have a positive effect on the environment.
If having someone you can call (if there's a beaver issue or challenge arises) is working great with beavers... it makes sense that creating a similar system prior to Lynx re-introduction would be the wise and gloriously right/cool thing to do. "Build it, and they (Lynx) will come." - Field Of Dreams (the movie). This way, community members and sheep farmers have someone they can call who will come out that same day and address the issue or concern. In the case of livestock loss, someone needs to go out fairly quickly to confirm the livestock killed was in fact killed by Lynx. And if there's a compensation program for farmers and ranchers... they should be reimbursed in 30 days or less. Maybe this is the Rewilders that want the Lynx back NOW... would be best focusing their efforts. Locals and Community members would be more supportive of green-lighting a trial size area if a working system of management is up and running and ready to go.
There are a lot of reports of sightings of big cats in England, that is speculated to descend from leopards/panthers that were released from captivity when it was banned to own them in 1976. If true it would mean these leopards are fulfilling a role in the ecosystem that has been absent or taken by humans since the middle ages.
1/5th in and leaving out of discomfort because I don't hear "these were clearly captive-bred animals dumped in the wild who would probably've starved to death" like the BBC footage shows (a conservationist is right there talking to one and it just looks at him like a housecat), just enthuiasm for charismatic carnivore species...adding one element back to an ecosystem without the rest of the missing stuff (native forest, mostly, here in Scotland) is no better than taking one away, a fact painfully clear in the Highlands where we have deer populations shunted about for the gentry to shoot at and life-affecting quantities of midges as a consequence.
Lynx would do nothing but good in Scotland, Estate owners and gamekeepers will think they're something else to control and they'll never back a reintroduction. So what they should be here!
it will take lots of public education and vocal advocacy. The land use planners must be ready to create large zones for habitation, and forestry practices and agriculture uses may need to shift or adapt. its a hard sell for sure, especially since financial rewards are not easy to quantify.
I live in Turkey's Black Sea mountains, I am an avid hiker and camper. Sometimes staying for a month straight on highlands. I know there are lynx around, saw footprints, saw some poacher's taxidermied disgrace, one got into someones house and couldn't leave, subsisted on a sack of dried pasta. I have never saw one myself, I have never heard them killing a sheep, goat or a dog. I didn't heard livestock guardian dogs killing them either, lynx do avoid kangals too. Their monicker here is the ghost in the wood (same folk call the wolf a monster and bear a bulky-boy :)
If it was a reintroduction attempt it was extraordinarily incompetent. No one who wanted them to disappear unnoticed into the wild to breed would have chosen that site. More likely someone wanted to ''set them free'' as some people do with other pets. That doesn't make it connected with rewilding.
I really really hope they make progress soon reintroducing beavers, lynx and eagles to the Isles! I'm an American, but I love to see the Isles getting rewilded
I am american, I feel the same way. I watch the UK rewilding vidieos andi feel like cheering and I want to be there helping. Even though I know that its maybe NOT what lots of british interests and citizens want. It just seems like a victory to see it happening somehow. I think its because we who have seen it return or who have always lived with it see it as such an incredible gift.
@@sc3pt1c4LApart from the fact that he didn't. The whole video he's saying how they are a good thing and that they should and probably will be brought back eventually.
Totally agree that the release of these 4 lynx is an ill thought out action and risks ruining the work so many people have put in to gain support for official lynx reintroduction in the UK. There is much to be said on the positives of managed lynx reintroduction. There is also a lot to be said about the need to control runaway deer populations and sustainable sheep farming. These issues are all connected as without work and colloboration in all 3 then rewiliding projects cannot succeed as the sheer numbers of uncontrolled grazers will stop natural regeneration. Keep the videos coming.
I'm from Örnsköldsvik rural area/forest, northern Sweden. We have lynx around but very few persons have ever seen them. I've never done that and just a handfull in the whole municipial. My colleauge actually saw a lynx last week but vary rare. 25 years ago a lynx took a few of our sheeps. But that was okay. Escaped dogs have almost killed our sheeps so I'm rather afraid of dogs than lynx. We have bears too, more ease to get a glimps of them, and some wolf visiting the area. Very few wolves here in north due to reindeer herding of the Saami.
What a beautiful animal! My favourite mammal. On a recent visit to the Western highlands (beautiful scenery!) I saw plenty of denuded mountain landscapes dotted with free roaming sheep, making sure that no tree seedling could survive.
I sympathise with the desire to reintroduce the Lynx to Scotland, and maybe parts of Wales and England too, but perhaps not releasing them into the coldest part of the country in winter would have been better? Give them time to settle in and establish themselves before the big freeze?
I saw a Lynx in Fife in 2013. I wasn’t alone. We both saw it at extremely close proximity. There was definitely no misidentification. We were driving to work at about 07:00 in June. I can’t remember the exact date. I was going quite fast West along the B9157. As I was approaching the bend before Orrock Quary, I saw a gingery animal moving through the long grass and weeds to the south of the road. Thinking it was a small deer (we have a huge amount of deer here in Fife) and realising it was going to pop out just in front of me, I slammed on the brakes in an emergency stop. It emerged from the scrub and immediately reared back on its haunches just as the front passenger window came to a halt next to it. There followed a bizarre few seconds (felt like longer) where my Son and I stared directly at, what we saw, was a Lynx as it stared back, startled at a range of no more than 1m - 1.5m. It then walked down the side of the car until it was maybe a car length (5m-6m) behind the car. Stopped again. Stared at the car for a few seconds as I watched on from the rear view mirror, then ran across the road and disappeared into the trees on the North side of the road. We sat a few moments before driving on. I had seen Lynx before in a zoo but they were grey. This one was gingery with a bright white beard/chest area, black tufts on its ears and triangular eyes. In height I would say it was slightly taller than a Labrador but not wolfhound size. Maybe large sheep height. The body was quite fluffy but the legs were really slender, which was quite clear as it crossed behind the car. I had driven that road a thousand times before and since and I haven’t seen anything resembling the slightest hint of what we saw that day. I tried reporting it to the Police but I don’t think they took me seriously. I commented about the sighting on a couple of British Big Cat pages on social media but I felt they were a bit to “Crypto,” focused. So I have generally not really spoken about it much since. No idea where it came from. It looked well fed and comfortable in its surroundings. Having done a bit of study on the subject since, I came to the conclusion that someone must have smuggled one into the country and released it. It seems like that would be difficult to achieve until you realise nobody is really trying to look for a Lynx smuggler. There’s plenty of illicit drugs in Scotland and there’s entire government task forces and agencies actively trying to stop that stuff getting in.
The Scottish wildcat is all but extinct. All releasing lynxes does, if it succeeds, is finish them off. And they will definitelynorey on lambs if they can. But anyway, these individuals are obviously hand raised.
Have you watched the video? If you don't agree with the arguments, do say so, but sounds like you haven't listened. 7.00 onwards for advantages to wildcat and quite a bit about sheep.
@@heloisahodierna7699 Lynxes’ preferential prey is ungulates. Deer, chamois, even juvenile moose. Yes, they’ll take foxes, rabbits and squirrels if they can’t get better. Scotland’s sheep roam the open hillsides most of the time. They did not coexist in this fashion with lynxes in the past. To the eurasian lynx, a blackface sheep is a decent substitute for a chamois. Less athletic, less rocky habitat and conveniently gathering in flocks. Hey, with some drystone boundaries and cairns to lurk behind.
My husband grew up in Germany, and traveled many times to the Harz mountain range, the area where the reintroduction of the lynx was piloted in Germany, for weeks on end. In his words: "Never saw one. And had I ever have, I probably DIDN'T see one ten thousand times for each sighting."
I'd love to see Lynx back in the UK we have far to many large prey animals and zero predators to control them!!! As for Wild Cats as you sed domestic cats are by far the largest problem and I personally feel that all domestic cats should NOT be allowed to roam free, if you have a domestic cat then it must be a house cat or have a Aviary annex thet can utilise. Great video and hopefully the Lynx will return soon.
In many situation predators that are not invasive pests (e.g. mink, stray/feral cats) do not control prey. Despite the nature documentaries. For aware prey, predators can sometimes modify behaviour (e.g. wolves). In most cases it's the prey that determines the predator population. Predators can be significant when prey population fluctuate and can take a serious hit before the predators starve. At this stage sometimes prey-switching can be another influence. The relationship between coyotes or dingoes & feral pigs is one of interest, those canines might significantly reduce piglet survival. Since both are persecuted, that might advantage the pork.
I wonder where you live. If you want to see them back in the UK then hold a trial in Southern England. I suggest Surrey or Hampshire. By the way the UK has very few ‘large prey animals’. The largest is probably the fox and I don’t see quite how the lynx is going to reduce their numbers.
Eh, I feel a little differently about domestic cats, but it also depends where it is. There are probably areas more suitable for wildcats were domestic cats shouldn't be let out, but also, if they are let out they can always be spayed/neutered to avoid inbreeding. If they're infertile, a domestic cat's not exactly gonna breed... As for any hunting habits a domestic cat may have that may cause problems, there's always specific collars for wearing, more playtime in the house, and not being released outside during dusk and dawn when they're most likely to be active and hunting.
Wild boar and beavers were reintroduced illegally, and they're thriving. Like house cats, lynx know how to live in the wild because it's ingrained in their DNA. Lynx would also hunt British wild goats, which have inhabited the British Isles for 5,000 years. Farmers have no excuse when livestock guardian dogs exist. I wish endangered native Komodo dragons would be reintroduced to Australia to restore the food chain. They'd also generate a lot of money through tourism.
@@royhay5741 and there has been some suggestion from the news that it was in bad shape when recaptured, because you can not release pets into the wild and expect them to act like their born wild counterparts. Particularly not during the coldest night in over a decade.
@Bringon-dw8dx one out of how many? There's always going to be ones who don't survive in rewilding. The others, recaptured or free, did or are doing well. Everything they need is there. We wouldn't last long in the wild due to our knowledge, tool, fire, clothing, and social dependencies or reduced senses, but other species don't have such problems.
Agreed, it's just that idiotic Scottish authorities don't believe those released lynxes could thrive in the wilds by themselves! What a mess for the ecosystem without them!
One of the lynx, out of the 2nd pair caught, has since died. The amount of stress they must have experienced over the past week is proving this is not the way to do it, with fatal results.
I live in Alabama USA. It is estimate we could have as many as 3.5 million bobcats in the USA and a large portion live in Alabama. Bobcats and lynx are related and even though bobcats are somewhat larger than lynx there are no known human deaths attributed to bobcats, not even children. Like the lynx they prefer to stay away from humans. I have lived in Alabama most of my 57 years and I've only seen a handful of bobcats the whole time as they are very shy creatures.
Letting an animal which has been captivity loose in an environment which at that time was down to -20C - that was recorded in a small village in the Cairngorm National Park. They would not be able to find food, would likely go onto farm land and steal sheep or lambs and be shot by farmers. The release of effectively new species into an environment needs to be done carefully not illegally.
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Wolves and lynx should be there they're going to fix the environment
The Eurasian lynx would be the wrong species of lynx to introduce. The UK's former lynx population was a distinct species which was closer genetically to the Iberian lynx than the Eurasian lynx.
If we are going to do this then we should do it right.
@@CS-zn6pp we hae a climate suited to Eurasian lynx and they will do great
We live near Loch Morlich, I'd love to see these in the area, if we could see one that is
Farmers are terrorized of radical environmentalists.
Today you reintroduce the lynx and tomorrow laws will bar them from protecting their herds...
I live in Finland and I'm 54 years old. Even if I'm not a hard core hiker, I do a fair bit of walking and running in the forest. Not quite daily, but definitely more often than once a week. The lynx population in Finland is around 2500 adults. I have never properly seen one. Once I have seen a glimpse, and once the footprints in the snow. They really are very secretive and pose no threat to humans whatsoever. There's absolutely no reason to fear them.
I live in Canada and can confirm. Despite ranging across the whole country and the population being high I’ve only seen them twice once I got a glimpse of one in the forest in northern bc and once crossing the road in the Rocky Mountains
And they're not even "not a threat to humans", in the way wolves are. Wolves are generally not a threat, but fatal attacks happen a few times per century(!) in very wolf-dense places, like Canada and Alaska. Lynx are not on record having ever killed a person, in recorded human history.
@ given lynx are only as big as a medium sized dog I doubt a lynx even with an ambush could kill a healthy adult person that biggest thing they’ve been known to hunt are smaller ungulates like deer or big horn sheep
the objections are coming from sheep famers and the people who releasee them let them go in mid winter which seem doubly irresponsible
Never seen one in Sweden either. Have seen bear and wolverine.
Let's not beat around the bush. Here in Scotland most of the land is owned by a small number of rich people who only care about using that land for hunting. They want no competition from apex predators such as Lynx or Wolves and as they have land and money they have sufficient lobbying power for reintroduction to not happen. Until we significantly change that, nothing of any significance will happen.
Allow farmers to keep their IHT relief if they allow lynx's and prove they have breeding raptor pairs on their lands.
Suddenly the aristocrats might suddenly change their minds and poisoning of raptors might decrease
sounds abit like you dont believe in personal property rights, and other rights that would 100% be broken if many of the things wanted happen. and i want lynx back! and i want people to be able to freely camp in wild areas, and keeping all walking paths through private land. so im split
500 families.
@Enhancedlies lynxes can hardly threaten a person, unless they're cornered, which shouldn't happen often. You should still be very very safe in the area, they really don't pose an issue for people camping
@@Enhancedlies in sweden we have both bear, wolf and lynx. you're able to camp almost wherever you like out in the wild due to allemansrätten. you can have both. Most predators don't want to interact with people and stay away
I used to hear lynx calling here in West Wales every October/November time on the hillside above my smallholding. Usually, at night, about 8 pm till the early hours. My daughter, who worked with small cats at Port Lympne, identified the calls from the recordings I made. My partner had 2 sightings. One was in the evening whilst putting the chickens away for the night, and she disturbed an animal that looked like a lynx and ran off easily, clearing an electric fence before disappearing into a hedge. The other was when she was parked in a hilly wooded area on her mobile phone. She heard a loud bang on the cab roof and saw a lynx land on the road next to the pickup and run off down the hill. There are plenty of rabbits and deer where we live, and whenever the lynx would visit, the rabbits would disappear. We haven't heard the lynx for 3 years now, so we can only assume that it has died.
We have been keeping poultry for over 20 years, and in that time, we have lost over 20 chickens to foxes. One or two were taken away, the rest were slaughtered or maimed and left. We lost our guinea fowl to hawks, and a small number of ducks to polecats. In each case, we knew what had happened. We have lost 3 chickens in circumstances where the causes were unknown. No traces were found, save for some scratches on top of a 6ft wooden fence. If these disappearances were due to lynx attacks, then I don't think one chicken every 6 or 7 years is too high a price to pay to have a small predator back in the UK.
Which part of West Wales is this?
@moneytooeasy2797 Ceredigion.
So they are not extinct ?
Likely people releasing them....not truly wild.@@UNCLETOEKNEE
@@UNCLETOEKNEE Yes they are.
Scotland has a massive deer problem that makes planting trees in unfenced areas virtually impossible, introducing the lynx is the perfect predator as they stay away from humans.
..I like the sound of this and it makes sense in the case of deer, but what else do lynx eat?
@@Vavala3534 domestic cats, they can clear out any feral cats that are killing our birds in huge numbers. Even the presence of Lynx will keep cats out of wild areas, the cats are petrified of a Lynx!!!
@@Vavala3534 Small animals like rabbits and squirrels, too.
Deer are the largest food source for lynx. They also eat large bugs, rodents, rabbits, birds, lizards, pretty much the same as other felines!
Lynx would not take down an adult red deer, a roe deer, but not a red (100kg to 350 kg weight for a red compared to lynx at 15kg to 30 kg).
We have lynx in Finland. You can find their tracks in winter but you never see them. Never. In contrast to wolves and bears, nobody is scared of Lynx.
Lynx kill young reindeer, but reindeer owners in Lappland are compensated by the government. The money is peanuts.
Hunters like the lynx since they limit excessive populations.
I love Lynx. They are cute. I know - I have seen them while watching BBC documentaries! 😊
Well let's not act like there isn't the usual calls to get rid of all predators, hunting lobby has to lobby
Ask any hunter if they like lynx. They like the money they get for their pelts.
Same in Sweden, noone is scared of lynx, there is a lot of controversy around the wolf reintroduction but none for the lynx. I spend a lot of time in the woods but I never see any lynx either, but I'm told I have to look up in the trees to see them, they climb and hide up there.
@@kallebirgersson710 the Swedish government have been killing of the wolf and lynx populations for years, allowing their populations to be culled to below sustainable levels to ensure sport hunters have enough deer and other ungulates to hunt. Also the reason Sweden and Norway has such a big problem with Chronic Wasting Disease which aren’t seen as frequently in areas with healthy wolf and Lynx populations
@kallebirgersson710 what reintroduction? Sweden's current wolves come from finland and have been in Sweden for near a decade, it's hardly a reintroduction hell they are regularly hunted officially to keep populations very low
I’ve said this before on another of your videos, but the sad truth is, nothing happens in this country unless there’s a financial incentive to do so. Money and profit governs decisions.
And only for the 1%ers....
To be fair, beavers DID happen. So did cranes and great bustards, and there's even some ongoing bison projects!
And whitetail eagles and those are quite big predators@Zooker25
@Zooker25didn't beavers only happen because of illegal reintroduction? I even remember talk about whether to kill them because they hadn't been legally reintroduced
@novedad4468there’s been many ‘legal’ beaver releases over the past few years all across the country, the illegal releases have simply sped up the process and boosted the population
I live in an area of Germany with extensive woodlands. We have lynx for decades now, but i never heard anything negative about them. In fact, you don't hear about them at all. We can prove that they live and hunt here by the traces they leave behind - but they live in coexistence with humans, our infrastructure and our livestock.
We also got a small amount of wolves around. I feel like the majority of people around me does not approve of wolves in our woods. There is no substantial evidence of wolves causing any harm to humans so far, most of the concerns come down to fear of the unknown or fear of change. Yes, wolves can harm livestock. Yes, wolves make deer behave more careful and make hunting for them more difficult. But also: careless deer ruin the tree saplings that our wood industry planted. And: bigger predators help the ecosystem by hunting old or sick herbivores and leave behind carcasses for smaller wildlife. There is pros and cons to everything. If you would value the work our woodland ecosystems do for us every day, it would outweigh the value of human made things we create every day. Enabling the woodland ecosystem to work better = more created value. (Value of clean water, wood, clean and cool air, recreational space, ...)
I am fully convinced that wild lynx made a way for the wolves by making people aware of peaceful coexistence with larger predators. I couldn't imagine how much more drama we would have over wolves in our area, if we could not look back on decades of living with lynx.
Also hunters shouldn't want dumb deer that stay still for them to shoot, isn't like the whole thing feeling the thrill of the hunt? Anyways wolves are always taken as the big bad, but as we have seen when they get rid of wolves they start complaining about bears, then lynx and like that until there are no predators left, these are very big lobbies
@@Solstice261hunters want everything quick and easy and they seek just the thrill of taking the shot and the life. It’s why so many hunters in the US complain about wolves and the elk. They claim the elk is disappearing. No, a few packs of wolves in a huge area cannot destabilise the prey population. Hunters think they disappeared simply because you no longer have huge herds of not so clever elk stationary in the same field day after day, they’re on the move. Hunters are lazy
@@Solstice261also deer is competition for pasture with sheep so it would actually help farmers spend less money on feed for their animals.
I lived in Germany for many years as a child in the 60's and 70's and used to go for walks through the forested areas with my parents. We often saw sign of Lynx but never saw one. Saw a few wolves over my time but they would run off into the denser wooded area off the tracks. Later as an adult I returned to Germany as a member of the British Army and would go running in and around Hermans Denkmal area and finally saw a Lynx but only fleetingly. As soon as it realised I was there it literally melted back into the forest. This was in the late 80's.
@@garrywatters1140 No wolves in the wild in Germany in the 60's or 70's. Did you see those in Poland, Romania or elsewhere?
Even here in Alaska, where there are plenty of Canada lynx roaming around, you would be very fortunate to see a lynx. My father, who's lived here is whole life, has only seen one a few times.
One time he actually saw a litter of lynx kittens crossing the road, which is the most extraordinarily lucky thing I've ever heard of.
Alaska! Do you know how tiny the Highlands of Scotland are? Just 30,000 square kilometres.
@@markshrimpton3138 plenty of room for cats to hide. they are really sensitive to human activity though, and that seems to already be an issue for the little wildcats there, among other pressures I have read about. Essentially, rewilding is asking for a huge overhaul of practices and thinking when it comes to land use, access and how to share with "predators'. a real uphill battle
@@markshrimpton3138 size matters not - yoda
Spent my entire childhood in rural areas in Canada. I saw a lynx (or possibly a bobcat, their little cousin species) exactly one time in the wild, from a very far distance. They're around, and you'd never know it.
Exactly, stealthy, blend in color wise, still, so close that most humans miss seeing them.
I believe bobcats are the only lynx relative in North America
Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are a species of Lynx.
@@ethanchesser756there’s the Canada lynx which is only in the north of the continent and it’s fairly similar to Eurasian lynx though a bit smaller and stockier
Yes. I’m fairly observant, and when young did a lot of backcountry time alone. I’ve seen one lynx on foot, and a quick flash of one driving at night. More bobcats, in the Rockies. I’ve had cougars that have walked over my tracks in the snow, several times. Still haven’t seen one in the wild.
Want to see game, go alone, and don’t look at your feet on the trail.
I’d starve as a smuggler. I can’t imagine how you get a lynx onto Britain.
If I saw one I think I’d keep my mouth shut.
I was portaging with friends in Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, Canada. The park has a more... cultivated area in the south for regular campers, but outside of that area it is pure wilderness. We were out there for 14 days, canoeing along the Petawawa River. We went for a day excursion to a place called Eustache Lake. All this time we had been tying our food up in trees to keep the bears from it, we had heard wolves howling at night (and howled with them.. that was fun) and saw all sorts of wildlife.
It was at Eustache Lake that we came across a Canadian lynx. It was standing on a rock, in full view of us, and it was watching us. Then it turned and vanished.
We we awestruck.. It was like being visited by an actual spirit of the forest.
Yeah but Canada is utterly massive while the Scottish Highlands just 30,000 square kilometres.
@@markshrimpton3138 I was not drawing a comparison. Simply relating a wonderful experience I had with a lynx encounter :) The narrator was even asking for experiences from other parts of the world.
And I am aware of the size comparison. All of Britain could fit within one tract of Canadian wilderness.
That sounds like a legendary trip! Awesome one to tell the grandkids in the future! 😮😊
@@markshrimpton3138considering current attitudes and practices in land use there, forestry, agriculture, hunting and your wonderful public access to both public and private lands, any predators may be a hard sell. people will be scared. honestly though, like wildcats, lynx will almost never be seen and unlike wild boar, wolves and bears, they are really not dangerous in any capacity to people really, although domestic cats, small dogs and farm critters may have conflicts.
UK mindset when it comes to nature protection:
All of UK: I care passionately about saving nature. Oh, those poor rhinos out in Africa being hunted for their horns! Oh, those poor tigers and orangutans going extinct because of poaching and palm oil! Oh, so sad! Weep weep!
Also UK whenever the prospect of reintroducing wolves or lynx to the UK is brought up or they’re set free: Mass hysteria! Not here, thank you very much! Eeek! I don’t want them near me, thank you very much!
Nature is not a pretty little garden for just “nice” animals like cute squirrels, rabbits, deer, ponies, birds, etc, but a network of ecosystems that relies on all native animals, including apex predators like wolves, lynx, etc, as well as “less cute” animals like rats, mice, spiders, cockroaches (in some parts), snakes, etc. If we’re going to care about nature (which we should and we need to), we need to care about ALL of nature and recognise the importance of ALL animals including ones we may be scared of.
Would the lynx compete with the Scottish wildcat? They’re only hanging on by their claw tips and can’t afford another obstacle to survival.
@@Darkstar-se6wcwildcats are considerably smaller and have different prey, and both are shy, stealthy animals, so they aren't rivals in that sense.
Main dangers to them is human encroachment leaving them insufficient space to roam, and pet-cat interbreeding which can both worsen their gene pool and also lead to their offspring being born at a pet cat home, being lost for the wild population.
Lynx reintroduction would also help reduce deer overpopulation and overconfidence, thereby reducing overgrazing and thus helping restore eaten-away understory plants, which increases biodiversity and habitat for various small animals. And more small animals means more food for predators like the wildcat.
@@Darkstar-se6wc feral cats are the biggest threat to Wildcats.
People need to make the connection between what they're eating and the effect it has on nature. Britain's ecology has been destroyed by livestock farming, specifically sheep farming. No one should cry about the state of UK wildlife and then go order lamb at the pub that same afternoon.
"Mass hysteria! Not here, thank you very much!"
Is that really true, or is it a hysterical response from a small minority? (Genuine question, I've not been able to find any survey data).
To be fair, some of the most hysterical people will be those who are most likely to be most affected, so I'm not saying they should be ignored.
11:05 A lot of wild roaming sheep are killed by dogs off leads and then the deaths are blamed on lynx or wolves.
Some people forget that, while domesticated, dogs are still predators. I genuinely don't understand how some just let their dogs go on an odyssey and think to themselves 'Yeah... he won't misbehave while he's like a kilometre away from me.' Unless you've actually taken the time to train your dog then just don't do this shit.
Most dog owners are arseholes. Not all but most. Bring back licences and proficiency ownership. And ban those long extension leads.
I live in Scotland.
I am not against reintroducing species to our nation that were once here. However, it must be done properly. It is my understanding that the lynx in question were released without re-acclimating them to a wild existence and were previously kept & fed by humans.
scottish wildcats are being released after captive breeding, its easy enough to not ingrain humans on cats of all sizes. They are naturally both predator and prey species, an unusual niche that gives them very complex behavior strategies and are very wary of humans in general. Truth is, if its done as a "hard release" some of those animals are simply not going to make it. a soft release would be better for the cats, and you know they would be monitored closely. those lynx in that video looked like they were just dumped there like trash there is no way to track them and tell if they are making it. Thats why it needs to be done with care and foresight into the best possible survivable situation.
They are not first to rewild lynx, we had a very slow population in eastern bavaria, in first years they rewildered wild carpatic lynx and tried to rewild some from enclosures. There was only one who slept just on the roof of a neighbouring farm after enjoying one of his chicken...and in a second ocassion it was brought back to enclosure. Now the breeding programs of the local lynx is done in a very different way and this animals dont have close contact to people, the food, also living food is brought to them in tunnel and they are just rewilded when catching its living prey and not associate food with humans etc. Also the smaller iberian lynx has multiplicated from 90 to 1000 today by rewilding in this way, think they will get lots of information before rewilding a lynx, to set free a "pet" could be a quick death for a rare and valuable animal and is sensless ;)
Held eye contact for 10s with a lynx about 20m from me once. Most significant nature experience I’ve had.
My family has sheep, never seen tracks of lynx close to our pastures. A lot of roe deer in the area. Western Sweden.
Hi , I thought you might like to know I saw a lynx, or at least very much a lynx type , about 5 times in the late 90s on Wenlock Edge. We owned The Wenlock Edge Inn and I watched our car park across the road from the bar, keeping an eye on customers' cars.My father saw it a couple of times. I think it was living in our car park and was hunting rabbits when I saw it. This was during the day time.Our car park had a huge pile of limestone that we were storing there. These were big slabs on which grass had started to grow and had lots of small cave like areas within the pile (tons of the stuff !). I also saw it hunting down in the woods as it chased rabbits across the old railway line below the Edge. This line had become a bridlepath and was the only bit of the Edge that was clear of vegetation. I felt it had probably been in captivity at one time due to the fact it did not seem overly afraid of humans , or cars, but did avoid direct contact.At this time Wenlock Edge was little used and the whole area had an abundance of rabbits. I did not mention it at the time because the local farmers were always one step away from paranoia about their sheep and lambs. Stray dogs were occasionally a problem, but the idea of a lynx...? I thought the lynx had a fine diet of rabbit which were defenceless compared to the lambs which were staunchly defended by their mothers.It was around 3 to 6 months and then not seen again.
As an american who regularly deals with much larger predators (miltary kid so ive lived in the native range of all north-american predators) and, in case being a subscriber here didnt give it away, i spend a lot of time in nature. The fact that yall are scared of a lynx is actually funny to me (like in a sad way, but very on brand for the pastoral isle)
A lynx is at more risk from you throwing away squid guts at a seafood restaurant (uncooked squid is poisonous to felines) or driving a car than they would ever pose a risk to you. Yall can literally just add a llama or donkey to your sheep and that will largely keep them safe. I genuinely dont get it.
One of my biology tutors at uni joked that he's surprised we don't try to eradicate bees from this country, because they sting us sometimes... ironically bees actually ARE more dangerous than lynx, since they do sting and sometimes kill people.
Well you see western culture just really REALLY hate nature.
It like pretty garden with trimmed hedge.
They hate wilderness, they want a tamed, declawed, clean landscape.
I know, and it's very sad to those of us who understand this. I think we've lived so long without anything bigger than a fox (and having even hunted those for centuries) that the thought of any predator is scary to a lot of people because of the fear of the unknown. Never mind that if lynx did live here that you'd almost never see one even if you went looking for one. Hell, we can't even get beavers properly reintroduced and they're not danger to people at all.
Sigh.
As a fellow American that grew up in California and currently lives in San Diego; I was initially afraid of, and steadily more fascinated by mountain lions being our resident Apex predator, until Black Bears began to make a comeback near San Francisco, where I grew up in the past several years. Them, bobcats, wolves making a steady comeback, and how to deal with non-native feral pigs in the American context, (versus Europe and Asia where they are native), are our wild frontiers to be re-embraced.
For continental Europeans that live in recovering lynx territory, let it be central, or eastern Europe with the eurasian lynx, or Spain and Portugal where the Iberian lynx is making a comeback; I want to believe that living among them is like living among mountain lions and bobcats for us Americans. Bobcats are the lynx’s smaller American cousin, that lives all over the continental US, while the larger mountain lion that is distantly related to cheetahs, is mostly in the western US with the exception of the Florida Panthers, and mountain lions that have dispersed to the Eastern US in a few cases.
Either way, the mountain lion is our reliable deer predator, unless there are other targets like American elk, or bison and moose in some cases, let alone mustang horses. The bobcat I have found, is our reliable hyper carnivorous meso-predator that is committed to hunting small to medium sized prey I read, with the occasional deer I have also heard.
Penasquitos Canyon is a large nature River valley park, north of downtown San Diego that I sometimes hike, and there are simply warning signs to safely deal with the three predators that sometimes live there that are mountain lions, bobcats, and coyotes.
With proper education and understanding of the importance of predators in their ecosystems and safety precautions; it is possible to coexist with them. I am yet to visit Yellowstone to get the experience of living among wolves and grizzly bears that I hope will ever return or be reintroduced to California.
@@31Blaize A guy in Belarus was actually killed by a beaver in 2013. But it was because he literally grabbed it and picked it up to pose for a photo, allegedly while he was intoxicated. He received very deep bite wounds and died from blood loss because he couldn't reach a hospital in time. So I think the rest of us are probably safe from the beaver menace (unless we're a tree). That also makes beavers officially 100% more deadly than lynx.
Want to hear a wild story?
This happened in Ohio.
A farmers sheep kept going missing. He checked his fences, didnt find bones or any remains so didnt think it was a predator. He got dogs and geese. months went by and sheep kept going missing. Eventually he got cameras.
Sheep kept going missing.
He spend hours watching back the camera footage and seen a SCHOOL BUS, pull up every morning to pick up kids on the corner part of his property. And on the buses return, would stop, climb the fence, and steal a sheep..
Like wtf man.. only in Ohio... it like 15 sheep.. not just one.. LOL
What was climbing the fence for the sheep? You didnt say? I presume you mean a lynx - but i dont know if i should now fear school buses?
@@anthonyduffy6953 The school bus driver.
What does this comment even mean, makes no sense. Is the School Bus climbing the fence and stealing sheep.
This comment starts with a mystery and ends with a mystery
so the driver was lifting sheep....geez. how many can you eat at once? or were they "rescuing" the sheep?
I live in Spain where there has been a lot of work done to protect and increase the lynx population.
The Iberian lynx is a different, much rarer species that is native only to Spain and Portugal
@@glenncordova4027 Does that matter? I think the Spanish have realised that a thriving wildlife is just as important to mass tourism for the future of the country.
@@chrisvalford Absolutely! You only have to read the excellent Spanish wildlife magazine "Quercus" to get some appreciation for the calibre of professionals and well-prepared amateurs involved as never before.
@@chrisvalford Spain still kills wolves that cross a certain line, in the south wolves are extinct now. So Spain is really a mixed picture. But the lynx protection was quite a success, in 2018 I was even able to take photos of a wild lynx in Andalusia.
@ yes, as a photographer I would love to spend a few weeks there. The Mediterranean where I live side is not so good, even today they still don’t know what wild life is here.
This is the first video of yours that I have watched. As a Brit, I was naturally intrigued as this story is in the news at the moment. I imagine a few other Brits will be watching for similar reasons.
I was rightfully sceptical of you knowing _the_ _truth_ about these lynx releases, as no one else seems to at the moment and it came as no surprise that you didn't have any information.
Aside from the Molyneuxesque clickbait title, this was a really interesting video and the links in the description were useful. I know the algorithm is king but you could pick a better title.
As I imagine, like myself, there will be a few first time viewers, you should introduce yourself and tell people why you are qualified to talk on the subject, otherwise it is just a man with a camera's opinion.
I have subscribed and look forward to more information on this subject.
I'm now going to watch some of your other videos.
I fundamentally wanted to reach as many people as possible to educate and address misinformation on the topic. UA-cam is a game of attention & views… often done without much purpose. As for qualifications, I’ve certainly done my time :) got more videos coming on this topic too.
@@LeaveCurious You have my attention and views.
I wasn't questioning your qualifications, merely saying you should let your audience know who you are and why they can be confident you know what you are talking about.
Roll on future lynx videos, I know very little about this subject and look forward to learning more
I feel like we need a David Attenborough documentary about reintroductions and the benefits it could bring! That would change public opinion faster than anything else
I also feel like we really need to see pictures of Lynx alongside things with a set size? Like they're usually shown in the wild, but trees/rocks/grasses can be varying sizes and it gives the impression that they're much bigger than they actually are
Mr. Attenborough is busy doing voice over work for the Wild Haggis of Scotland docuseries.
The BBC refused to air an episode of Wild Isles because it mentioned climate change.
@@GallowglassVT censorship is creepy, they covered table legs in the victorian era cuz ankles were sexy. Same game.
That's a brilliant idea.
@@GallowglassVT Source?
I wish you good luck and persistency to bring the lynx back to the UK. I live in Germany close to the Harz mountains National Park where wild lynx were brought back to nature about 25 years ago. The project is very successful and there is also a fenced enclosure with lynx from a zoo whose purpose is to promote acceptance by the local people. These animals are so beautiful, they live very hidden, and never attack humans. Once I was extremely lucky to have a very close encounter with a wild lynx, which was really impressive, and two times I saw their remarkably large footprints in fresh snow. Apart of some rare events of a killed farm animal, the lynx has only positive effects on nature. You need some courageous people to bring the lynx also back to the UK!
Everybody in the UK should see this video
We live in Argyll, Scotland. I get eat a lit of riad kill venison because thrre are far too many deer here. That's most Roe deaths, but also have Sika in the freezer. I haven't picked up a Red because there's so much meat to process. I love venison, but would prefer less were hit because the Lynx were taking them instead. Many of the woodlands have little understorey because of overgrazing by deer. Bring tne Lynx back. Haven't heard the tourism angle before
Also the expansion of the Caledonian pine forest would benefit greatly from a reduction in deer numbers from the introduction of Lynx.
@@nicholasgoodfellow5774 fat fingers on phone without predictive text probably more likely to be the cause.
@@nicholasgoodfellow5774 It's a Scot, they only speak English in self-defence
Yes, they talked about trialing lynx in Kielder forest and the Spadeadam Waste, and people I knew actually though it could lead to diversification for the farmers, almost like birdwatching, laying on accommodation and hide's, but I understand the sheep farmers stimied the plan.
roadkill and predators are a bad combination for the predators. they get killed themselves. but venison is quite tasty. sort of jealous
In Portugal and Spain, twenty years ago the Iberian lynx population was less than 100 Individuals, in 2022 the population is 1668 individuals, thanks to the hard work of professionals!
In Atlantic Canada we have both Lynx and Cougars/Panthers. I've hunted and trapped and camped and hiked and snowmobiled for decades and never seen one of these beautiful cats. Our giant Moose and large black bears are more of a threat, yet It is extraordinarilly rare to run into one of those either.
There’s a slight difference in size between Canada and the Highlands of Scotland, a massive difference in fact.
@@markshrimpton3138 I think the point being that these animals are very shy and will avoid people if they can at all help it. Scotland would have to build conservation spaces for larger animals into any land planning though. I saw a video that a new windfarm is being planned adjacent to some new wildcat habitat and its bad news for this new little population of wildcats, and the advocacy groups seem to have lost out on protecting them. wild felines are sensitive to human land use, so planning in a smaller space like the highlands would be critical to make sure populations have broad access to help maintain genetic diversity.
Protecting sheep with guardian dogs has also been successful. In Portugal there is a organisation that provides farmers with dogs.
This is a brilliant option… that’s needs to be explored and then financially supported by the government before predators are reintroduced
@@Bringon-dw8dx sheep will follow their guardian dogs, might not even need border collies if done right. walk the guardian where you want them to go and the sheep follow. the sheep know they are protected and will even seek out their LGD's when lambing.
@@Bringon-dw8dx more tax payers money for the poor old farmers?
@@yetidodger6650 considering the average earnings of farmers and the fact they feed the country… yes.
@Bringon-dw8dx yeah, the poor old farmer routine...🤣
My first thought was that this is the worst time of year to release animals into the wild.
Greetings from Norway, Lynx is like you said a very ilusive animal. Here in Norway people say that you can wonder around in the woods for a lifetime without ever seeing one. I was lucky myself just once to see a lynx standing by the side of the road as I was on my way home through some woods by car. It stared my straight in the eyes as if it was expecting me to stop so that it could cross. Probably on the hunt and got interrupted by the road. Just there the road took a swing so I couldn't stop. Fantastic creature.
It was cruel to the Lynx themselves. Unless they're accustomed to hunting, they were not going to thrive - possibly not even survive. I'm still incredibly excited at reintroduction efforts. Folks have been doing terrific volunteer work in Scotland, and shown how to work with local government. I'm rooting for the program from the other side of the world, the Pacific Northwest, USA.
Yeah one died :(
They actually hunt naturally , the rabbit and deer population eat grass ,shrubs etc and the lynx will naturally predate them , domestic cats predate its still natural to them .
@@tonimor9721 Domestic cats have the opportunity to take the time to learn how to hunt as they will not starve if they fail to catch any prey for a week or two....
Wild animals WILL....
There is an important difference there....
It's sad to see how the agonizingly slow work of the uk government makes people take this decisions. Reintroductions need to be scientifically sound, and with the cooperation of local stakeholders, and this isn't the way. But by being so incompetent and counterproductive, the uk government had it coming. There's a limit to people's patience.
Is this a UK Govt decision. My guess is it is a Scottish Govt. decision.
I agree
if its not a priority that people will be vocally in favor of, it doens't matter where you live, environmental concerns are put on the back burner. Always and everywhere. But. if nature gets a chance to work properly, she is aggressive about taking it all back, whether we like it or not.
@@maryobrien5568 need to be uk wide decision as the cat could easily migrate south f living in the cold rainy scotland let go south the cat probably.
plus if they did migrate the place they move to might not be happy and complain, so it has to be a uk wide choice.
Landowners are a very powerful lobby group, as are farmers.
I seen a lynx in Hertfordshire about 12 years ago and ive spoken to someone else who has seen them too.
What interests me most, is where were these illegally released lynx sourced from? You can't just bring them into the country without specifying the reason for it, and I'm fairly sure there aren't sufficient numbers in captivity in the UK - which in any case would make the animals easily traceable
I assume its not hard to bring one over when its young. There is alot more cat breeds than people assume so i cant see anyone at the border questioning anything. Im sure there is a big captive population too however.
@@JarMaster smuggling is a worldwide problem, did anyone hear if they got DNA type from the lynx that were recaptured or found?
@@hollyjensen2371 Northern Lynx
Danger Wild Animal License. But doesn’t stop the illegal pet trade
I live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. All across the nation restoration folks in all of the niches in the complex problems humans have created are recognizing how little things have huge effects. Beavers restoring riparian habitat, helping restore aquifers, mitigate flooding, and more. Wolf re-introduction to Yellowstone solved a huge number of problems in erosion control, overpopulation, habitat loss. The same things with wolf reintroduction from farmers and ranchers as you have.
Bobcats have not completely disappeared here I think they are sized between your wild cat and Lynx. Coyotes are at the edges of most communities with only night workers noticing them.
It's worth pointing out that since the video was made another two illegally released lynx have been captured and one of the four has died, apparently of starvation. Personally I don't have an issue with reintroducing lynx - they could help to control deer numbers and unlike beavers they don't cause problems like flooding - but it has to be done properly.
I lived for 17 years with lynx as my neighbours (in Finland). Never saw one, only heard their distinctive cries in the mating season.
Tracks in snow?
@@billsmith5109 Saw loads, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to say what species left them.
What a richness Lynx would bring to the wild landscape of Scotland and they would enjoy hunting the young deer. The landowners who are freaking out about their livestock being killed are in a panic about nothing.
livestock owners here have adapted to large predators including bear and coyotes. most cattle are not bothered, sheep and goats are more likely to be targeted, but good fencing, livestock guardian dogs, donkeys and llamas and sheltered lambing barns help
I live in the US in bobcat country. I spend a lot of time outdoors and have only seen one bobcat in four decades. I lived in the north for a while where there are bobcats and Canada lynx. I never saw one and I really wanted to see one so I kept an eye out always. The concerns about lynx are out of proportion in my opinion. I hope you let them back in the UK some day. Good luck!
A very balanced answer to a difficult situation. I love this channel
I've just found this channel and it has explained the issue better than anything I have seen on mainstream media. So I've subscribed.
I also like the brief aside to look at the wood-ants nest. That is what being in nature is about, finding something unexpected and taking a moment to admire it.
Awesome, welcome! I should make some content where I just frolic in nature - doesn't necessarily do all that well on youtube though, but maybe for the members it be good :)
When you said, it’s in a consultation stage… my immediate reaction “it’s not going to happen for decades”… no bureaucrat will want to make that decision because we live in a nanny state and some people might be scared and negative about it. They are going to keep it in the feedback loop for as long as possible and then pass it to someone else… the health and safety will prevail 😢 it would’ve been better if the partisan lynx were properly wild but I hope they can find their feet now that they are here…
0:41 ok let's be careful in what we're saying here. There's no evidence to confirm that this was some kind of rogue rewilding attempt. Assumptions that this was the case could be very damaging to the UK Lynx reintroduction plans and the wider UK rewilding movement.
I think the information we have points to someone dumping animals they could no longer keep - animals they didn't have a license for. The proximity of the release site to the Highland Wildlife park, to me, suggests that whoever left them wanted them to be found and taken in by the park.
Anyone serious enough about rewilding would have done a much better job, I believe. They'd have chosen a more remote release site for starters, let alone release lynx that are clearly very habituated to humans. Basic research would have shown this to be a bad idea.
Sadly, one of these lynx has died. People opposed to reintroducing lynx are using this mess as an opportunity to undermine legitimate reintroduction plans.
You do great work and I love your channel. Please help move the narrative away from 'rogue rewilding'!
It is rogue rewilding. If you don't own it, you can't just release animals on it. If they were such a great asset they wouldn'thave been wiped out. Release some in your hallway@HarryYV
I was in the Kyle of Sutherland in Scotland. I know tracks well. Fox ,deer ,badger ,squirrel, hare ,rabbit, dog , running jumping stalking . I found tracks around a deer carcass after snow 1 of Jan. I didn't recognise the tracks at all. Very interesting.
I live in Scotland and Im all up for it. I'd pay an extra pennys tax to compensate any farmers.
As a young(ish) Scottish person I personally would love to see Scotland become a true wilderness again, the barrenness of some places like in the Cairngorms is a sad sight sometimes. But as some have said, money is the biggest hurdle to changing peoples minds on things like the lynx. Keep up the good work and hopefully some minds will begin to change 🏴
I live in Devon, been watching you for a while now Rob and I'm always delighted to get rewilding updates from you. The lynx is always a case that interests me, I would love to know they're wild and free in Britain.
Well you’re welcome to them down in Devon. Scotland is not a theme park.
I’ve personally seen one on the outskirts of Gloucester a few months ago. I imagine it was probably released under the same circumstances, either that or it was someone’s pet. Though from what I saw myself & also from what I’ve read in the local papers, it seems to be doing well.
As always, you can place the blame pretty squarely on rich landowners, many of whom are landed gentry or part of the royal family, wanting to monopolise the land for their own use then deflecting blame by pointing to a cause celeb like ordinary farmers or right to roam laws.
as an american, where there are so many restrictions on private property land access, it was really surprising to hear just how little of scotland's land is actually not privately held. Mostly because you have rights of access we don't really have here, so that line appears blurred. Its been interesting finding out about the rewilding there. any where you go and say 'predator reintroduction' you will get a fear based push back from all sectors. though. The predators here repopulated themselves, whether people approved or not, but by and large we have all settled in together. farmers adapted, hikers/campers adapted, and we all laugh about the morons who get stomped on because they didn't think the moose was dangerous.
the rich are likely the once activly wanting them back for envorimental reason and votes, the local people Don't as it a danger to endangerd animals already here and a risk to public safety, plus we got rid of them for a reason.
I live in the UK now. But growing up in Poland and going to camp in the wilderness every year, ive seen maybe one lynx, wolf and bear in my whole life. Brits have nothing to fear unless youre planning to bring back boar xD
Since this video was updated 2 other Lynx were caught bringing the total to four. Sadly one died whilst in the care of veterinarian and wildlife staff. They believe that the animals were ‘domesticated’ in the sense that they were not afraid of humans, in fact they were looking for food. It was tragic that whoever released them did so when Scotland had experienced its coldest spell of weather in 15 years. The nighttime temperature went down to approx -15 C. I am all for reintroduction of the lynx and hope that the Scottish Government agree with the consensus but I am also a strong supporter of releasing the animals under a controlled environment. Illegal introductions are not in the interests or welfare of the animals. In these examples, the poor animals would not have survived as they had obviously relied on humans to provide their food and had no hunting skills.
YES I thought this, pretty stupid to me to do this in the winter, what chance have they got ???
I did a project in Sixth Form about lynx reintroduction back in 2019. I got 'The Lynx and Us' and absolutely loved it. I was disappointed that the trial reintroduction was shot down by the Conservative government, and have been waiting ever since for some more news on the issue. That said, I live far away from Scotland so it's easy for me to say it's a good idea when I wouldn't suffer the consequences. The illegal releases were irresponsible but at least I hope they'll reignite the conversation.
If it's the right thing to do, why is it irresponsible to release without permission?
If the government is wrong, it's wrong
@Lewis_Standing releasing them in freezing winter conditions when they're presumably accustomed to being fed by humans instead of hunting for their food was setting them up at best for suffering and at worst for starvation
@@Lewis_Standing Additionally, this would be missing out on opportunities to research and collect data about the lynx. We don't even know how many there are out there, let alone what they're doing. Data collection would be vital for lynx becoming established in Britain in the long term, as it would inform policies and further conservation action.
@@Lewis_Standing A few reasons.
1) Animals raised for release into the wild have to be raised with minimal possible human contact, and with the maximum possible chances for them to learn the skills they will need to survive in the wild. While the basic hunting instincts are present in all cats, it takes experience and time to hone those instincts properly. In the wild this will be done by the mother teaching her young how to hunt. You have to mimic that process as much as possible in animals you intend to release into the wild. If you do not, most will starve to death.
2) Disease, specifically Rabies. Rabies was eliminated from the UK in 1922, its the very reason our Quarantine laws exist. We DO NOT WANT RABIES BACK thankyou very much. Can you be sure that a smuggled animal is free of rabies?
The illegally released animals are simply not suitable for release into the wild, and the likelihood is they would have all died of starvation. They have also not been vetted to be clear of rabies.
Those are the two main reasons illegal release is irresponsible.
I WANT to see Lynx reintroduced into the UK, but illegal and improper releases are NOT the way to do it. It needs to be a properly planned and executed reintroduction strategy.
Why is building trust always an issue? Yet it never seems to come up when governmental agencies are seemingly dragging their heels and don't communicate (well) at all?
People notice these things. If not directly then indirectly and frustration starts building up. If this goes on long enough people feel justified to act themselves. I'd argue that there was a betrayal of trust from the government over a long time that kick started this....
Absolutely tragic the way the farming community do not see the benefits of releasing Lynx. In this day and age when we have such an appalling government targeting the farmers, they need a different income stream. Ecotourism is the way forward for them and a healthy population of Lynx would bring in more income and be more nature-positive than sheep everywhere. I live next to where the Beavers 'appeared' in Devon and the boost to nature and the economy is huge, bringing in millions and more diversity not just with nature but in types of tourism which this area relies on. Leave the Lynyx alone and release more, we will all benefit. You only have to see the news on how we have messed up nature, if there is a future for humans on the planet then we have to restore the damage we have done, like we have at The Seahorse Trust. Thanks for your informative work Leave Curious brilliant balanced videos.
I'm from Slovakia(46). I've never heard of a lynx killing a pet nor a farm animal. I don't know anyone who saw one , never heard of lynx attacking a human. They are so secretive it is very hard to spot one. Definitely no reason to be afraid of their reintroduction in Scotland. And it is quite similar with wolves to be honest.
I have had two sightings over the last six years. One in South Herefordshire and one in North Herefordshire. They were both early morning encounters around 04.30.
The major resistance from lynx reintroduction is farmers "What about our livestock?" and the thing is, they do have a point.
The way to solve their concern is to change the law on guard dogs so that livestock guardian dogs (LGD) can be used as they are intended and that is to live with the herds and protect them from predators.
And LGD are HIGHLY effective, many LGD breeds are breed to fight bears, let alone wolves and lynx.
Indeed, but lynx exist in other nations and there is little to no issue. Farmers are compensated. But British Gov plc has money a plenty for WMD and protection of their pals' interest.
It’s important to recognise the difference between the various deer species. They would certainly have an impact on roe deer (native) and sika (non native) as both favour woodland and are within a size range that lynx could successfully hunt as an ambush predator. Fallow deer are relatively scarce in Scotland and so can effectively be discounted. However, lynx would have virtually no effect on red deer numbers due to the fact that in most areas they live on the open hill making ambush difficult and, apart from juveniles, are probably too large for a lynx to regularly kill. Red deer also live in forested areas and here a few juveniles might be taken. The other issue is that the current environment is very different to that in which the last Scottish lynx existed. We now have livestock farming adjacent to most areas where roe deer live, roe are perfectly happy in hedgerows and are often found in areas of mixed woodland and farmland and I’m afraid that the lynx will not have read the rules and will inevitably kill the much easier to catch sheep that are farmed nearby. Very few reintroductions go well and whilst on paper there seems to be some merit, in practice things could go horribly wrong. If a reintroduction was to be tried at all the huge Kielder Forest in Northumbria with a decent roe population would be a much better bet.
8:58 The lynx hasn't come back to the Netherlands but, I know Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg and France have them. It's a succes.
I met one while forest running in Sweden. It was more afraid of me than is was. Just glad I got to see one 😊
I live in a country with not only wild lynx but also grey wolves and brown bears. Your chance of encountering either of the first two mentioned is about zero. They are very shy and avoid you at all cost. Brown bear is also mostly unproblematic except where stupid people feed them and for some reason refuse to lock their garbage. In that case bear will associate people with easy meal and because it is a large animal aware of its power, it might become aggressive.
My region of Sweden is about 8000 km2 and has a population of 400 000 people and 85 lynxes. Last year in this region, one sheep was killed and two hunting dogs were attacked while hunting lynx. Both dogs survived. I couldn't find information on how many sheep there are in my region, but overall, most (all?) sheep are killed when the farmer doesn't have proper predator resistant fencing.
My dad has lived in this region for 65+ years, he's a hard core bird watcher, and is outdoors a lot!! And the last 15 years he's lived in the real countryside (only forests and fields visible from the house) and he owns a few sheep. Throughout all his life he has only seen lynxes twice and neither were even close to where he keeps his sheep.
You really don't notice the lynxes. You can fit in a lot of lynxes, humans and sheep in the same area and, with proper fencing, you would hardly know they are there. Financially supporting farmers to put up fences and compensate them for killed sheep is the best way to go imo.
Interesting on so many levels. The night before the story of the released lynx was in the paper, I had a really vivid dream about a lynx I'd spotted near my home. It was so vivid, it seemed real. This lynx in my dream had a radio collar. I must stress that prior to this dream, I hadn't heard anything about these lynxes in Scotland. Hmmm...
Back in 2001, I did my Ecotourism MSc thesis on the impact of wolves, bears and lynx in Slovakia. There, the main problem was wolves, but there was a programme which, alongside compensating sheep farmers, instructing them on effective and appropriate fences (they were very free-range over there), equipped farmers with livestock guarding dogs. They used Slovak Cuvac dogs, and were helped with training and food costs. This seems to work really well and has cut down on a lot of the livestock-predator conflicts. Another thing that you mentioned in this video, which found to be true about predators is that as long as their natural prey is abundant, then they will tend to avoid livestock, so trying to get hunters on board was another challenge, as they felt they competed for deer. It was all a bit bonkers. The deer were killing the trees, so they wanted to get the deer numbers down, but didn't want the wolves to do it as the hunters wouldn't have anything to hunt....
Back then I lived in the UK, but now live in the Italian Apennines, where we have our tiny Apennine wolves. The sheep flocks are protected by Maremmano dogs, which are really similar to Cuvac. Officially there are no lynx, but anecdotally people say they've seen them. Either way, their range is expanding and I hope they eventually arrive here. I've seen one wolf since I've been here. Loads of poo, loads of tracks, and if you go to the other side of the valley at night, you're sure to hear them calling. It's magical.
your spirit animal perhaps? lovely dream
@@hollyjensen2371 Who knows?! I do love them...
I live in Switzerland and there are lynx in the area but I've never seen one and never met anyone who has seen one. Super difficult to notice. One effect you might get that would be that the deer might move around more -- a "culture of fear" effect. This tends to be beneficial as it stops the deer overgrazing a specific area.
Kampinos forest, just couple miles west of Warsaw, Poland has a lynx population thanks to successful reintroduction of this species in 90s.
Only records of their presence are the photos from photo-traps and films published on the park website. Haven’t heard about any issues or danger posed by lynx to humans. Visiting the park however I always feel this excitement of sharing the space with such wonderful animal.
We bought a zoo is a film based of a certain zoo. The old owner in question was a friend’s uncle. Got to see some cool things years ago and discover there’s an underworld with big cats. There’s a lot of people who don’t know the half of it. under their nose. Exotic pets are just something else.
In Canada our Lynx almost exclusively hunt Snowshoe Hare, so every time I have watched a video about reintroduction of Lynx to Britain and hear that the European Lynx hunts deer it just sounds so strange. There is a well known cycle of population boom and bust for the Snowshoe Hare and the Lynx, lasting about 9 to 11 years.
Eurasian Lynx is twice as big as Canadian version. This is why that species can hunts deers. I live in the area where Lynxes were released in 2012. There is zero issues with that animal. I have never seen one and I do not now any person who seen that cat. There is no interaction with domestic animals to. Tho we do not have sheeps here. They are in the area, but I now this only because one Lynx was found sick maybe thirty kilometers from my home. It feel better now and will be released into the wild in March. I've hope I wrote this in understandable way. I am trying to not use trsnlator :) Greetings from Poland!
@@krasnyp6176 Although it's clear that English is not your first language, you seem to have a firm grasp of it and I understood you just fine. Kudos for avoiding the translator!
I never knew that about Eurasian Lynx being twice as big. I've always known the Canadian Lynx and even did research on the snowshoe hare/lynx population cycle. The lynx is my spirit animal for sure.
@@RossRadford And just a side not unlike the bobcat or canadian lynx, the eurasian lynx is in most part of europe the second largest predator besides the wolves and in other parts only the third largest when brown bears are still in those parts. In some cases even the only top predator where wolves and bears are gone.
And the eurasian lynx often hunts roe deer, hares and rarely juvenile/young wild boar.
a study done here in MA on bobcats indicated that their primary diet was deer. our deer are pretty big. that take down has to be one hell of a wild ride. I have yet to hear a single hunter complain about other predators taking "their" deer anymore. we have a very healthy woodland and population of good healthy deer. we also have a 3 month coyote season in winter, and although it times with breeding season, I don't think it seriously impacts the coyote populations.
same, i cant imagine a cat even one of it size Hunting a dear or stag, those deer are big here in scotland.
that and kinda rooting for the stags since it my clans crest.
My area of the northeast U,S, has a sizable population of bobcats and maybe a few canadian lynx. I have seen bobcats twice in my life. Once a kitten running across the road in front of my car. Once an adult walking down my driveway into the woods.
As far as lynx living in Britain. That report of a hair being found near a sheep kill and the DNA test coming back as panthera gives life again to those Beast of Bodmin stories. If leopards can secretly roam the english countryside without causing a stir, Scotland should well be a match for lynx.
Im spaniard and we are seeing the effect of the Iberian Lynx reintroduction on smaller predators that you talk about and is true. Especially with the Meloncillo (Egyptian Mongoose) that took the place of the Lynx as predator. The places where the Lynx hunt now are instantly abandoned by the mongooses who contrary to the Lynx they prey farming animals like chickens and even small lambs because they prey in groups unlike the Lynx.
That's why the farmers are delighted with the reintroduction of the Lynx.
It feels a fantasy to have such a magnificent animal like the Lynx back in the UK because the fear is the land is used primarily for the tiny rich minority who would rather shoot a bird in a barrel than have a healthy ecosystem.
If from an urban person, in the environment that is intentionally utterly destroyed for most species (not all, foxes, rats, cats, dogs etc thrive in cities), the snide reference to landowners who manipulate their own land to benefit some types of wildlife is rich. Many other native species benefit from this.
@@johnmead8437 It's rich from a rural person to claim that they care at all or help at all the native species when they'll only help a select few, screw over the rest, refuse to budge, claim "they're feelings get hurt", but don't care if they're hurting anyone or anything else.
4 Lynx have now been trapped, all appear to be in good health and are being looked after by the proper authorities and will be placed in suitable captive homes after they have gone through a period of quarantine. At least that is the current news on them at the moment.
I would love to see more wild animals back in the UK. It’s nice to hear that tne Beavers are doing well, and having lived close to the Forest of Dean, it seems like the Boar are benefiting the forest, after a bit of a rough start, but that was an illegal release as well.
My big concern with the Lynx that were illegally released is not only for their health and well being, had they learnt to hunt and look after themselves, but if they were used to people, and particularly if they associated people with food, then they might approach people when they got hungry, and there is a chance the people would panic, particularly if there were children, and that is when some one could get hurt. A child getting scratched would undo decades of work trying to convince people that Lynx aren’t dangerous. Any Lynx released has to know how to survive alone, and to be wary of humans.
A Feral animal is always more dangerous than a Wild one.
We have Pumas here in the Preseli Hills in west wales. Ive seen them twice now in just three years of living here. Both times eating a sheep in my neighbours field. Both times were not my neighbours sheep but a sheep from further up the preselli's. Our farm is right on the edge of the national park. I have one time on camera but my pixel 6 decided it was a nokia 3310 for unknown reasons. You can barely make out the tail. Its common amongst the farmers to see big cats are taking sheep. TBH neither time have i felt worried more awe. I dont know if they are officially recognised yet but defiantly here. Also supposed populations of Pumas and Lynx in North Wales. I probably didn't believe it before moving here from essex but the whole family has seen them with our own eyes.
@JimFinch . Great recollections. We have Black Leopards in the West Midlands. I've seen two over the years, and know a few other reliable people who have.
Restoring the Lynx would be a benefit all round, sick elderly deer are removed, they will also help trees to recover as the damage the deer do to saplings and then we can have the wonderful return to nature as we should have on this island, we have taken so much , its time to put back and that includes the gorgeous Scottish Wild Cat ...
Perhaps a good thing to do is to have a nice fireside chat with the people who live off the land that reintroduced animals would inhabit. A often undiscussed aspect is that Landowners, Gamekeepers and Farmers will often be comfortable with an number of creatures living alongside with the caveat that they will in future be able to lawfully control numbers. Once a species is given legal protection and then if it becomes an obvious menace , it is very difficult to reverse the protection. I'm not just talking about Lynx, judging by your post here they appear to be of little concern and moderate benefit. But I don't have skin in the game other than taking pleasure in seeing a very healthy head of wildlife where I live and also have a lot of respect for the skill, work ethic and often misunderstood people who manage land either via hunting or farming. These people really know their stuff, they have to because their often somewhat humble lives depend on this land.
Lynx are already here in the UK. They never went extinct. I know of 4 sightings in my region in the last 4 years.
Man, everyone talking about how elusive lynx are just really reminds me of where i live.
Canadian Arctic, everytime, and i mean everytime ive gone to our small ski/walking trail ive seen at least one Canadian Lynx. Just chilling, hunting the hares you can sometimes see.
If you make eye contact, even if its just for a second, they get nervous and leave, i always feel so bad for freaking 'em out but its for the best
Edit:spelling
As a farmers son, your ideas should really be explored. We all want the same things in the bigger picture
And in Sweden the government let hunters kill half of the wolf population because 'it's dangerous' even when it's still illegal. 😥 You should teach them a lesson ecology...
Despite lynx being notorious for not really meddling with humans but hey, Sweden has a big hunting and livestock lobby so they allow excessive hunting of basically any predator
Sweden had a fairly in famous case where someone had killed a mother wolf, then took pity on a cub, brought it home, and attempted to bring it up as a dog. Community found out and it were determined the then adolescent wolf should be euthanised. The wolf's keeper said he would do so, and was trusted to do such. But he just released it into a wild....
Not long afterwards dogs started going missing. Then attacks on humans started. Children were killed. Even adults were killed. A wolf was seen around that was seen to be becoming increasing braisen and aggressive towards humans Understandable panic set in, as attacks on humans continued to escalate, and a wolf was seen prowling around village. Wolf was seen attacking. And dragging off children. People would barricade themselves in after dark etc. And go out in groups and kill fully wild wolves daytime. After that continued for months they eventually found a lone wolf was actually living in the village under the houses. It had zero fear of humans. When it was killed...attacks stopped.
It's thought that dangerous wolf was the one which as a cub had been attempted to domesticated and then was reintroduced to the wild without 1) skills it would need to hunt 2) little fear of humans.
And that combination resulted in behaviour quite different from wild wolves, who hadn't interacted with humans much at all.
Point to take away is That extremely poorly managed release into the wild, caused harm to humans. The wolf itself. And many many other wolves due to fear of what wolves can do(abet in unusual circumstances.)
It's also a strong cautionary tale why it would be utter idiocy releasing lynx without careful monitoring. We might be sure wild born& raised lynx should be OK...but we don't how reintroduced lynx will behave. Plus even if things happen to turn out ok, unofficial releases aren't gonna generate acceptible evidence that releases are OK.
@@stevecummins324 In my country they reintroduced the lynx a few years ago. There were no attacks on humans or livestock, so I think it's going well. We also have or had (idk if they are still alive) a few wolves. A few sheep were killed but that's it. So controlled reintroduction can have a positive effect on the environment.
@@stevecummins324 Nice made up story
@@gothicfan52 Gysinge 1820s. 31 attacks on people. 12 fatalities.
seen a lynx in monmouthshire 8 years ago it was sat looking at me about 30 yards away im a hunter and had a gun with me ,but did not shoot it
If having someone you can call (if there's a beaver issue or challenge arises) is working great with beavers... it makes sense that creating a similar system prior to Lynx re-introduction would be the wise and gloriously right/cool thing to do. "Build it, and they (Lynx) will come." - Field Of Dreams (the movie). This way, community members and sheep farmers have someone they can call who will come out that same day and address the issue or concern. In the case of livestock loss, someone needs to go out fairly quickly to confirm the livestock killed was in fact killed by Lynx. And if there's a compensation program for farmers and ranchers... they should be reimbursed in 30 days or less. Maybe this is the Rewilders that want the Lynx back NOW... would be best focusing their efforts. Locals and Community members would be more supportive of green-lighting a trial size area if a working system of management is up and running and ready to go.
There are a lot of reports of sightings of big cats in England, that is speculated to descend from leopards/panthers that were released from captivity when it was banned to own them in 1976. If true it would mean these leopards are fulfilling a role in the ecosystem that has been absent or taken by humans since the middle ages.
1/5th in and leaving out of discomfort because I don't hear "these were clearly captive-bred animals dumped in the wild who would probably've starved to death" like the BBC footage shows (a conservationist is right there talking to one and it just looks at him like a housecat), just enthuiasm for charismatic carnivore species...adding one element back to an ecosystem without the rest of the missing stuff (native forest, mostly, here in Scotland) is no better than taking one away, a fact painfully clear in the Highlands where we have deer populations shunted about for the gentry to shoot at and life-affecting quantities of midges as a consequence.
THIS!
Don’t be so weak, he says that later in the video.
Keep up the great work!! Could you produce videos of rewilding initiatives around the UK. Thanks
Lynx would do nothing but good in Scotland, Estate owners and gamekeepers will think they're something else to control and they'll never back a reintroduction. So what they should be here!
it will take lots of public education and vocal advocacy. The land use planners must be ready to create large zones for habitation, and forestry practices and agriculture uses may need to shift or adapt. its a hard sell for sure, especially since financial rewards are not easy to quantify.
I live in Turkey's Black Sea mountains, I am an avid hiker and camper. Sometimes staying for a month straight on highlands. I know there are lynx around, saw footprints, saw some poacher's taxidermied disgrace, one got into someones house and couldn't leave, subsisted on a sack of dried pasta. I have never saw one myself, I have never heard them killing a sheep, goat or a dog. I didn't heard livestock guardian dogs killing them either, lynx do avoid kangals too. Their monicker here is the ghost in the wood (same folk call the wolf a monster and bear a bulky-boy :)
If it was a reintroduction attempt it was extraordinarily incompetent. No one who wanted them to disappear unnoticed into the wild to breed would have chosen that site. More likely someone wanted to ''set them free'' as some people do with other pets. That doesn't make it connected with rewilding.
I really really hope they make progress soon reintroducing beavers, lynx and eagles to the Isles! I'm an American, but I love to see the Isles getting rewilded
Beavers and eagles are already being successfully reintroduced, hopefully it won’t be long until lynx are also. 👍👍🏴🏴
I am american, I feel the same way. I watch the UK rewilding vidieos andi feel like cheering and I want to be there helping. Even though I know that its maybe NOT what lots of british interests and citizens want. It just seems like a victory to see it happening somehow. I think its because we who have seen it return or who have always lived with it see it as such an incredible gift.
Well I can't wait to see them wild and free in the UK
He said repeatedly that you "won't see them".
Even though they are here in the south Already without doubt and have been some year's
@@sc3pt1c4LApart from the fact that he didn't. The whole video he's saying how they are a good thing and that they should and probably will be brought back eventually.
@@Neontetra1424not as in they won't be introduced, but that they'll do their job as a predator quietly and completely out of the way of people
Well try a trial in the south of England first then. The last time I checked that was part of the UK.
Totally agree that the release of these 4 lynx is an ill thought out action and risks ruining the work so many people have put in to gain support for official lynx reintroduction in the UK. There is much to be said on the positives of managed lynx reintroduction. There is also a lot to be said about the need to control runaway deer populations and sustainable sheep farming. These issues are all connected as without work and colloboration in all 3 then rewiliding projects cannot succeed as the sheer numbers of uncontrolled grazers will stop natural regeneration. Keep the videos coming.
I'm from Örnsköldsvik rural area/forest, northern Sweden. We have lynx around but very few persons have ever seen them. I've never done that and just a handfull in the whole municipial. My colleauge actually saw a lynx last week but vary rare.
25 years ago a lynx took a few of our sheeps. But that was okay. Escaped dogs have almost killed our sheeps so I'm rather afraid of dogs than lynx.
We have bears too, more ease to get a glimps of them, and some wolf visiting the area. Very few wolves here in north due to reindeer herding of the Saami.
What a beautiful animal! My favourite mammal. On a recent visit to the Western highlands (beautiful scenery!) I saw plenty of denuded mountain landscapes dotted with free roaming sheep, making sure that no tree seedling could survive.
I sympathise with the desire to reintroduce the Lynx to Scotland, and maybe parts of Wales and England too, but perhaps not releasing them into the coldest part of the country in winter would have been better? Give them time to settle in and establish themselves before the big freeze?
I saw a Lynx in Fife in 2013. I wasn’t alone. We both saw it at extremely close proximity. There was definitely no misidentification.
We were driving to work at about 07:00 in June. I can’t remember the exact date. I was going quite fast West along the B9157. As I was approaching the bend before Orrock Quary, I saw a gingery animal moving through the long grass and weeds to the south of the road. Thinking it was a small deer (we have a huge amount of deer here in Fife) and realising it was going to pop out just in front of me, I slammed on the brakes in an emergency stop.
It emerged from the scrub and immediately reared back on its haunches just as the front passenger window came to a halt next to it.
There followed a bizarre few seconds (felt like longer) where my Son and I stared directly at, what we saw, was a Lynx as it stared back, startled at a range of no more than 1m - 1.5m.
It then walked down the side of the car until it was maybe a car length (5m-6m) behind the car. Stopped again. Stared at the car for a few seconds as I watched on from the rear view mirror, then ran across the road and disappeared into the trees on the North side of the road.
We sat a few moments before driving on.
I had seen Lynx before in a zoo but they were grey. This one was gingery with a bright white beard/chest area, black tufts on its ears and triangular eyes. In height I would say it was slightly taller than a Labrador but not wolfhound size. Maybe large sheep height. The body was quite fluffy but the legs were really slender, which was quite clear as it crossed behind the car.
I had driven that road a thousand times before and since and I haven’t seen anything resembling the slightest hint of what we saw that day.
I tried reporting it to the Police but I don’t think they took me seriously. I commented about the sighting on a couple of British Big Cat pages on social media but I felt they were a bit to “Crypto,” focused. So I have generally not really spoken about it much since.
No idea where it came from. It looked well fed and comfortable in its surroundings. Having done a bit of study on the subject since, I came to the conclusion that someone must have smuggled one into the country and released it. It seems like that would be difficult to achieve until you realise nobody is really trying to look for a Lynx smuggler. There’s plenty of illicit drugs in Scotland and there’s entire government task forces and agencies actively trying to stop that stuff getting in.
The Scottish wildcat is all but extinct. All releasing lynxes does, if it succeeds, is finish them off. And they will definitelynorey on lambs if they can. But anyway, these individuals are obviously hand raised.
Have you watched the video? If you don't agree with the arguments, do say so, but sounds like you haven't listened. 7.00 onwards for advantages to wildcat and quite a bit about sheep.
you did not watch the video did you xdd
@@heloisahodierna7699 Lynxes’ preferential prey is ungulates. Deer, chamois, even juvenile moose. Yes, they’ll take foxes, rabbits and squirrels if they can’t get better. Scotland’s sheep roam the open hillsides most of the time. They did not coexist in this fashion with lynxes in the past.
To the eurasian lynx, a blackface sheep is a decent substitute for a chamois. Less athletic, less rocky habitat and conveniently gathering in flocks. Hey, with some drystone boundaries and cairns to lurk behind.
@@jenson1569 I got a few minutes in and realised I was listening to bullshit, yes..
People who dont understand become really defensive over their lack of intelect
My husband grew up in Germany, and traveled many times to the Harz mountain range, the area where the reintroduction of the lynx was piloted in Germany, for weeks on end. In his words: "Never saw one. And had I ever have, I probably DIDN'T see one ten thousand times for each sighting."
I'd love to see Lynx back in the UK we have far to many large prey animals and zero predators to control them!!! As for Wild Cats as you sed domestic cats are by far the largest problem and I personally feel that all domestic cats should NOT be allowed to roam free, if you have a domestic cat then it must be a house cat or have a Aviary annex thet can utilise. Great video and hopefully the Lynx will return soon.
In many situation predators that are not invasive pests (e.g. mink, stray/feral cats) do not control prey. Despite the nature documentaries. For aware prey, predators can sometimes modify behaviour (e.g. wolves). In most cases it's the prey that determines the predator population. Predators can be significant when prey population fluctuate and can take a serious hit before the predators starve. At this stage sometimes prey-switching can be another influence.
The relationship between coyotes or dingoes & feral pigs is one of interest, those canines might significantly reduce piglet survival. Since both are persecuted, that might advantage the pork.
Nobody cares about your opinion
I wonder where you live. If you want to see them back in the UK then hold a trial in Southern England. I suggest Surrey or Hampshire. By the way the UK has very few ‘large prey animals’. The largest is probably the fox and I don’t see quite how the lynx is going to reduce their numbers.
Mark - prey animals are animals that get eaten. Predators are the animals that do the eating. Foxes are predators.
Eh, I feel a little differently about domestic cats, but it also depends where it is. There are probably areas more suitable for wildcats were domestic cats shouldn't be let out, but also, if they are let out they can always be spayed/neutered to avoid inbreeding. If they're infertile, a domestic cat's not exactly gonna breed...
As for any hunting habits a domestic cat may have that may cause problems, there's always specific collars for wearing, more playtime in the house, and not being released outside during dusk and dawn when they're most likely to be active and hunting.
Wild boar and beavers were reintroduced illegally, and they're thriving. Like house cats, lynx know how to live in the wild because it's ingrained in their DNA.
Lynx would also hunt British wild goats, which have inhabited the British Isles for 5,000 years. Farmers have no excuse when livestock guardian dogs exist.
I wish endangered native Komodo dragons would be reintroduced to Australia to restore the food chain. They'd also generate a lot of money through tourism.
‘Know how to live’ erm one is already dead.
@Bringon-dw8dx After it was recaptured. Ha, I won!
@@royhay5741 and there has been some suggestion from the news that it was in bad shape when recaptured, because you can not release pets into the wild and expect them to act like their born wild counterparts. Particularly not during the coldest night in over a decade.
@Bringon-dw8dx one out of how many? There's always going to be ones who don't survive in rewilding. The others, recaptured or free, did or are doing well. Everything they need is there. We wouldn't last long in the wild due to our knowledge, tool, fire, clothing, and social dependencies or reduced senses, but other species don't have such problems.
Always lived side by side with Lynx in Norway, never been an issue.
Agreed, it's just that idiotic Scottish authorities don't believe those released lynxes could thrive in the wilds by themselves! What a mess for the ecosystem without them!
One of the lynx, out of the 2nd pair caught, has since died. The amount of stress they must have experienced over the past week is proving this is not the way to do it, with fatal results.
I live in Alabama USA. It is estimate we could have as many as 3.5 million bobcats in the USA and a large portion live in Alabama. Bobcats and lynx are related and even though bobcats are somewhat larger than lynx there are no known human deaths attributed to bobcats, not even children. Like the lynx they prefer to stay away from humans. I have lived in Alabama most of my 57 years and I've only seen a handful of bobcats the whole time as they are very shy creatures.
Are Alabama bobcats larger? Bobcats were said to be the smallest of the genus.
Letting an animal which has been captivity loose in an environment which at that time was down to -20C - that was recorded in a small village in the Cairngorm National Park. They would not be able to find food, would likely go onto farm land and steal sheep or lambs and be shot by farmers. The release of effectively new species into an environment needs to be done carefully not illegally.