On Saturday, June 12th, 2021, Zagreb Zoo celebrated its 96th birthday, and members of the LIFE Lynx project team and BIOM interns marked the International Lynx Day by educating visitors about the lynx and the LIFE Lynx project. An educational corner was set up in The Zoo in the early morning, with equipment used for studying lynx, such as camera traps and hair traps, equipment for collecting samples from signs of presence and with promotional materials. Interested visitors were also able to peruse photos of various animals taken with camera traps, but what attracted the most attention was the game “Which lynx is this?”.
The game is based on identifying drawn lynxes according to their fur patterns, just as researchers would do with real photographs of lynxes. Game was initially intended for children, but after introducing a timed version for older players, the number of participants increased rapidly. Thus increased the number of people informed about the lynx and the reasons for their endangerment in Croatia.
The game was further popularized by the introduction of a rule that anyone who completes it can rename one of the drawn lynxes, and the collected names will be considered for naming future lynx individuals. Judging by the interest and the amount of questions asked by all participants regardless of their age, this year’s International Lynx Day was very successful.
Author: Martina Kaniža
Translation: Mia Jakopović