Camera trapping in Slovenia revealed 20 adult lynx and two kittens being present in Slovenia between September 2019 and April 2020.
Camera traps are used for systematic data collection on minimal number of adult lynx and the presence of kittens, as well as the sex and age structure of the population to some extent. During the second season of camera trapping, we have collaborated with 68 hunters and successfully obtained high-quality photos of lynx on 155 occasions at 41 different locations. The area of camera trapping covered almost a third of the country as we set up 253 cameras on 185 locations.
The map represents the hunting grounds, collaborating at lynx camera trapping and he locations where the camera traps were set (blue dots) and where lynx was recorded (red dots). Photo: LIFE Lynx
The picture shows two different lynx, a female and a male, that were recorded at the same location in the time span of three days; one of them was later captured and collared (Mihec). Photo: LIFE Lynx
On more than 30.000 photos we identified at least 30 animal species, thus getting precious insight into the entire forest animal community.
Camera traps recorded more than 30 different species; besides lynx, the picture shows the most common species. Photo: Urša Fležar, LIFE Lynx
We recorded all lynx wearing telemetry collar with territory in Slovenia, including lynx Doru and Goru, which were translocated to the Dinarics in 2019. We identified 13 lynx, which were already photographed in the first season of camera trapping (2018-2019), two of them being kittens, which got independent from their mothers. One of the two kittens recorded during season 2019-2020 was Mala, the first confirmed offspring of a translocated lynx, Goru. The low number of recorded kittens could be an indicator of the issue the Dinaric-SE Alpine lynx population is facing due to inbreeding.
The results were described in detail in a hunting magazine Lovec (in Slovenian).
This male lynx was recorded at 7 different locations in the area of Snežnik, which is exceptional. Photo: LIFE Lynx