An adult male lynx captured in Romania was released on March 24 2023 in the Plitvice Lakes National Park. This is the sixth lynx that was translocated from the Carpathians to Croatia as part of the LIFE Lynx project in order to increase the genetic diversity of our population and stop its extinction, while ten animals have been released in Slovenia so far.
Tomislav Kovačević, general manager of Plitvice Lakes National Park, said on the release of lynx Kras: “The Public Institution Plitvice Lakes National Park has been systematically monitoring lynxes for the past seven years, and last year eight adults were recorded using the park area. However, it is a worrying fact that in the period 2018 – 2021, no cubs were recorded in the park area, which could potentially be the result of inbreeding, which threatens the survival of the lynx in the Dinarides. Fortunately, at the end of 2022, it was recorded by camera traps in the park that a female called Shiny had two cubs, and we hope that the released lynx Kras will help this positive trend of reproduction in Plitvice to continue.”
Lynx Kras got its name from the Croatian and Slovenian term ‘kras’, which means corrosive phenomena on water-soluble rocks such as limestone, the most widespread type of rock in the Dinaric Mountains and Lika, and a significant feature of the karst landscape of the Plitvice Lakes. This lynx is the last animal that will be settled in Croatia as part of the LIFE Lynx project.
Lynx Kras release. Photo: Vedran Slijepčević
Lynx Kras. Photo: Goga Iskrić
Lynx Kras. Photo: Goga Iskrić