“Hairs. Real lynx hairs!” I said to myself. This was getting exciting. There, on the corner of a neatly stacked woodpile were a few pale, fine hairs about 70 cm. above the ground. And then, remembering what I’d been told about the lynx’s territorial habits, I bent over for a sniff – and nearly fell over. There it was: the unmistakable, eye-watering-but-not-unpleasant, smell of cat urine (some of my friends think I’m strange). The cat in this case being 20 odd kilograms of pale-eyed, tufty-eared, side-burned and altogether alluring lynx. I was thrilled. This was the closest I’d ever come to seeing one in the wild.
In January I took a train from Scotland to Switzerland as part of my winter holiday. I had been kindly invited by lynx expert Fridolin Zimmerman of KORA, a Swiss-based carnivore research and conservation body. I was keen to learn more about the lynx in Switzerland, where they have been successfully reintroduced. KORA were conducting a two-month lynx population survey in the north-western Swiss Alps and to achieve this they had set up camera traps in various parts of the forested mountains. These ‘traps’ are designed to take a picture automatically in response to changes in heat as an animal passes by. By placing one on either side of the trail, biologists are able to get pictures of both flanks of the animal, enabling them to identify individual lynx by the unique pattern of spots or rosettes on their coats.
On most days I accompanied a member of KORA staff on drives, and some lengthy, snowshoe-clad walks to the various trap sites in the mountains. In heavy snow and beneath azure, alpine skies, we changed the batteries, retrieved camera films or memory cards, made notes and checked that the cameras were still working. Some were replaced, or new ones installed at lynx hotspots. Scrolling through the pictures from the digital cameras was a bit like opening Christmas presents. There was a real sense of anticipation as to what would turn up on the screen: a fox, walkers’ legs, a roe deer, some skiers’ legs, a badger, a dog, a chamois, walkers’ legs, and … a lynx! Right here, just two nights ago! The one that left the pungent message! In the end, quite a few sites yielded lynx pictures and sharp-scented signposts, although a fresh fall of snow had covered the animals’ footprints.
Predators such as the lynx are not always welcomed. Some farmers are concerned about them, although many others are not too worried, as lynx very rarely attack their sheep, and if they do, the farmer is compensated for more than the market value for the animal. However, some hunters fear that lynx will reduce deer numbers, leaving fewer for shooting.
The benefits lynx can bring are considerable. By preying on and dispersing deer, they can help forest habitats to flourish, with lots of positive knock-on effects for wildlife. They can also bring economic gains by attracting wildlife enthusiasts (like me!) to visit an area, even though these animals are very difficult to see (some lynx experts have only seen one or two lynx after a decade or more in the field!). Lynx are so shy that they are not a danger to humans, and there have been no recorded attacks.
A few months previously I first met Fridolin following a lynx presentation he gave in Scotland. Later that week we visited some of TFL’s early work sites in the Highlands. He and Scottish lynx expert, David Hetherington, concurred that the core part of the TFL Target Area would be perfect habitat for lynx, if they are ever brought back to Scotland. Imagine if they were … imagine the excitement of walking through a Highland forest and finding scratch marks on a tree where a lynx had been sharpening its claws, or its footprints in the snow, or even, if you were really lucky, a glimpse of the elusive cat itself!
It was a useful and insightful trip, and I’d like to thank Fridolin for his time and kind hospitality. I learned a lot, although what really struck me was the raw excitement of being right there, in the lynx’s domain. Simply knowing they were around was thrilling, considering that all I saw of them were some pictures and a few hairs.
P.s. for excellent information on international rail travel, and other alternatives to flying, visit www.seat61.com
