Among all known resident lynx in Slovenia, the story of Mihec is one of the most exceptional ones. He was named more than a decade ago, when researchers captured and collared him as an adolescent lynx. They were following him for a year until his independence. In 2020, the Slovenian LIFE Lynx project team was up for a surprise when they discovered that a lynx they captured was Mihec. The data from his new collar shows us also the size of his territory and that he is sharing it with at least one female lynx.
We already know this female from camera trapping from 2018. In 2020 we photographed her offspring, and there is a chance Mihec is the father, although, this yet needs to be confirmed with genetic data.
Female lynx with her kitten. Photo: Rajko Troha, Babno Bolje Hunting Club
Mihec is not camera shy. We got 18 photos from him in the past two years of monitoring with camera traps. With the help of local Hunting Clubs Iga Vas and Babno Polje, we got recent photos from two different locations. The photos and the data from telemetry collars Mihec wore in two different periods of his life will give the researchers valuable insight into the life of one of the oldest documented lynx in the Dinarides.
Lynx Mihec, photographed in Babno Polje hunting ground. Photo: Rajko Troha