The lynx effect

Anna Ford | Communications lead

This week, four Eurasian lynx were unlawfully released into the Scottish Highlands, prompting concern from conservation organisations. The chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland described the act as “highly irresponsible” as the cats might not survive “due to a lack of adequate preparation”.

All were recaptured, but, tragically, one of the four lost its life. The other three will be cared for at Edinburgh zoo.

But why would anyone want to release lynx into the wild? While we can only guess the motive, the event has re-sparked conversations about the role of apex predators like lynx in the UK.

The UK has no top predators – and that makes us an outlier. Across the Channel, conservative estimates count 20,300 wolves in the EU. Germany alone has close to 160 packs. It’s possible Italy has more. Wolves are now breeding in almost every European country. The EU has ten times as many brown bears as grizzlies – a brown bear sub-species – in the US.  Lynx reintroductions in continental Europe have seen numbers bloom to around 9,000 individuals in ten populations, roaming across twenty-three countries.

Without apex predators, the UK has an ecosystem which is out of balance. Predators restore equilibrium.

Lynx, for example, prey largely on roe deer. The UK currently has the highest level of deer for 1000 years, with around 500,000 individuals in the UK. With no natural predators, their population has no ceiling, meaning humans need to intervene to cull their numbers.

While the browsing of deer can have beneficial effects, when left unchecked, it becomes a serious problem for the natural regeneration of scrubland and trees. The understorey of most woodlands in Britain, which used to provide cover and food for birds and small mammals, has been almost totally browsed out by deer.

And in the absence of any apex predators in the UK, the fox, which is a mid-ranking (or ‘meso’) predator, has ruled the roost. Lynx can have a significant impact on foxes, as has been shown in Sweden and Finland, and described by Lynx expert, David Hetherington. Territorial competition, as well as direct predation, from the lynx puts pressure on foxes. In turn, this relieves smaller mammals and ground-nesting birds, and prompts their populations to recover.

Reintroducing an apex predator then has the potential to restore ecological balance.

While polling shows that much of the UK population supports reintroducing predators, for some, the idea of big cats stalking our wildlands is frightening.

The truth is that lynx are reclusive. Mainly nocturnal, they live in dense scrub and woodland and are extremely wary of humans.  As stealth predators, they hunt alone and under cover, rather than across open ground in packs like wolves. These wild cats are about the size of Labrador dogs, but lighter in frame.  They are strikingly beautiful too, with a characteristic ruff of fur around the chin, and dark tufts on the tips of their ears which enhance their hearing.

Some worry about lynx predating farmland sheep. But attacks are rare. In Switzerland, for example, the annual total of lynx-killed sheep varies between 20 and 60. Such events are no longer seen as a significant problem, with the public, farming community and hunters almost universally accepting of the lynx in their landscape.

What’s more, the elusive Eurasian lynx creates a considerable draw for wildlife tourism, as demonstrated in several national parks, especially in Germany, where it is deeply symbolic of the wild. For visitors, it’s often enough just to know that there are lynx in their midst, even if they can’t see them.

So, what about in the UK? Where might lynx call home? There are relatively few potential release sites of sufficient scale. A 2008 assessment of habitat availability and connectivity, prey availability and population viability identified two potential lynx habitat networks in Scotland. One is north of the Central Belt (including wooded landscapes in the Cairngorms National Park) which could support around 400 lynx. The other, smaller one, with lower deer densities, is centred on the Southern Uplands connecting with the Kielder Forest in Northumberland.

As part of a nature restoration strategy, the UK needs Eurasian lynx. The government needs to act urgently and radically to curb the dramatic decline in biodiversity. The UK is one of the most nature deprived places in the world, with one in six of its species at risk of being lost from Britain. 

In this context, and with slow-to-materialise support from the new government, it is perhaps understandable (albeit not commendable) that some activists may now be taking matters into their own hands. It was, after all, an unlawful release of beavers on the River Otter that forced the UK government to allow the first free-living beavers in England. 

We know the importance of these keystone species, we know how to live with them, and we are duty bound to restore missing species to Britain. To do that, we need strong government support and management plans to reassure farmers and landowners. 

The illegal release of species is not the solution; doing so won’t win hearts and minds. But action does need to be taken. Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, and Nature Minister, Mary Creagh, we’re looking to you.

For further reading, look at The Lynx and Us by David Hetherington. And read an interview with David Hetherington.

Image credit: Kenny Goossen on Unsplash

*Updated after news that one of the four lynx died.