Update about lynxes from Gorenjska

Posted - Aug 18, 2021


Since the release in late April 2021 in Gorenjska region, Slovenia, all lynxes are still present in the region; Zois and Aida on Jelovica and Tris, Julija and Lenka on Pokljuka plateau. On the map bellow, you can see their home ranges.

Map of the home ranges of lynxes translocated to Gorenjska. Photo: LIFE Lynx

It is very interesting that females in Pokljuka are still sharing the territories because lynxes are territorial against conspecifics of the same sex. Lynx Tris has been the biggest explorer so far, as he went above the forest line to the high mountains area in the Julian Alps, which is very interesting and impressing. From telemetry data, we observed that Tris and Lenka were often moving together, which could indicate potential mating. Time will tell if those meetings were successful. Zois and Aida are still present on Jelovica plateau, where, as expected, Zois has a larger home range than Aida. Based on their telemetry data, they were also together in the same location on a couple occasions.

With the help of the telemetry collars, we can also monitor lynxes’ predation success on the field. Last week, project team members and local hunters went to check some of the kill sites of the females in Triglav National Park on Pokljuka. We found a roe deer remains and made a survey about the lynx kill site characteristics.

A survey of the lynx kill-site characteristics. Photo: Miha Krofel, LIFE Lynx

We are hoping, that all released lynxes will stay in the Alpine region and will not disperse elsewhere, as establishment of Alpine lynx population is a very important stepping-stone in the long-term conservation and connectivity of Alpine and Dinaric lynx populations.