March 3rd is officially World Wildlife Day as proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly in 2013. On this day in 1973 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed. This year the day is celebrated under the theme “Big cats: predators under threat”.
Big cats are among the most widely recognized and admired animals, but they are also facing threats, many of them caused by humans. Overall, their populations are declining at a disturbing rate due to loss of habitat and prey, conflicts with people, poaching and illegal trade.
The Eurasian lynx is the largest cat in Europe and is facing near extinction in many landscapes or has been eliminated in many places. Forth five years ago, we reintroduced lynx in the Dinaric region (Slovenia), and despite initial positive response in population growth, the lynx in this area are facing another extinction due to genetic inbreeding. The population needs new lynx soon.
In the LIFE Lynx project we accepted this challenge and we will reinforce the Dinaric lynx population by introducing additional, healthy animals from Carpathian area. With international collaboration and working with all stakeholders we believe that we will succeed.
We believe that lynx is an important part of our natural heritage and we want to keep it for generations to come.
