In mid-March, we captured the third and last cub from the first litter of Julia and Tris in the Mežakla area. The young lynx was examined by the veterinarians and found to be in excellent physical condition with at 16 kg at the time of capture.
Veterinary, examing lynx Andrej. Photo: Miha Marolt
Setting a telemetry collar. Photo: Miha Marolt
LIFE Lynx lynx-capturing team, veterinarian from ZOO Ljubljana and local hunters with lynx Andrej. Photo: Miha Marolt
The Triglav National Park ranger who manages the Mežakla hunting ground named the lynx Andrej, after his predecessor. The name Andrej also has an additional meaning, as part of Mežakla is named Andrejevo selo, or Andrej’s Village, named after Prince Andrej, the son of King Karađorđević, who had his holiday residence in the area.
Andrej, like his brother Flori, has not yet become independent from Julia, unlike Meri, who separated from them in December. The sex determination was much easier for Flori and Andrej as both were already 9 months old at the capture. For Meri it was more difficult to determine the sex, as he was 7 months old at the capture, and cats are not sexually mature at that age, so when determining the sex of Meri, genetics revealed that he is a male.
All three lynx brothers will be monitored with telemetry collars during their dispersal and search for their territories. There is a possibility that the lynxes will find their home in Italy or Austria and with this help connect lynx populations in neighboring countries, so monitoring them will be of particular interest.