In the last days of November, the Slovenian LIFE Lynx team successfully captured lynx Aida and replaced her telemetry collar. The lynx was caught in a box trap set on a forest road where she was regularly recorded during the last camera trapping season. Aida was translocated from Romania and together with male Zois released into the forests of Jelovica plateau in 2021. They established their territories there and already got two generations of offspring. LIFE Lynx team was regularly monitoring Aida’s movements, using telemetry for assessing predation, denning and interactions with Zois. As Aida’s collar would have stopped working at the beginning of the next year, we replaced it to continue studying her movements and the contribution to the formation of the Alpine stepping stone population. At the time of capture, Aida weighed 18.5 kg and was in good physical condition. After release back into Jelovica forests, we recorded her kittens inspecting the box trap before reuniting with their mother, which further confirms that Aida is contributing well to the reinforcement of the local lynx population.
Aida entering the box-trap. Photo: LIFE Lynx
Veterinary exam and measurements. Photo: Urša Fležar, LIFE Lynx
Aida was covered with a special protective foil. Photo: Igor Pičulin
Setting a new telemetry collar. Photo: Urša Fležar, LIFE Lynx
Group photo of the recapture team. Photo: Igor Pičulin