Predators on the prowl... big cats set for a comeback, just 30 miles away from Glasgow
LYNX could be roaming just 30 miles from Scotland’s largest city, according to campaigners keen to see them reintroduced to the country.
The Lynx UK Trust is in talks with landowners about a trial reintroduction of Eurasian lynx in Argyll and Inverness-shire.
They have identified a ‘suitable lynx habitat’, which covers a huge area of 10,000sq miles. The southern edge is as close as 30 miles from Glasgow.
The land, which they believe could ‘comfortably be home for 250 lynx’, stretches from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs into the West Highlands and the Great Glen.
The trust says the area is ‘the largest available habitat for lynx in the UK’.
Dr Paul O’Donoghue, chief scientific adviser for the trust, said that while the creatures could have environmental benefits by controlling deer and potentially protecting ailing populations of capercaillie, they would pose no risk to humans.
He said: ‘The available habitat for lynx
‘You wouldn’t see one going through bins’
extends to comfortably within 30 miles of Glasgow.
‘The important thing to note is that lynx are zero risk to people – there has not been a documented attack of a healthy wild lynx on a person.
‘Lynx is the perfect predator for a reintroduction because they have the charisma and excitement but they represent no risk to humans.
‘There is no chance of them straying in to urban areas. In places where lynx are found they are called the “ghost cat”.
‘They avoid people at all cost and so you know they are there but you don’t see them.
‘Lynx are highly specialised nocturnal predators – not opportunistic scavengers like the fox, so you wouldn’t see one going through your bins.
‘They specialise on roe deer and Scotland has an over-abundance of deer. It’s a massive larder for the lynx.’
The trust now aims to explore the potential for lynx in the Argyll and Inverness-shire areas, including benefits it could bring to the ecology.
It has also applied for a similar trial reintroduction into Kielder Forest in Northumberland.
Initially, it plans a five-year reintroduction trial, involving a ‘first release of six to ten animals’. Dr O’Donoghue said the animals would be fitted with GPS collars to monitor their movements.
The trust believes that lynx would help control deer through direct predation and by keeping deer herds moving through forestry.
It claims that the endangered capercaillie could also benefit as the presence of lynx around pine martens could influence the birds to spend less time on the forest floor, where pine martens find their nests and steal their eggs.
The pine marten currently has no natural predator.
Dr O’Donoghue said Scotland could follow the example of Harz National Park in Germany, where lynx have been released since 1999 – nearly 200 years after they were wiped out by fur hunters.
He said: ‘There are over 100 lynx and they call the entire area “The Kingdom of the Lynx”.
‘It attracts millions of people and generates tens of millions of pounds. It’s the excitement of walking through a forest and seeing a lynx scratching post, a track or a kill site that is a huge draw for eco-tourism.’
The consultation process in the Kielder region took just over 11 months to reach the application stage and the trust has months ahead exploring the idea with landowners, stakeholders, the general public and sheep farmers.
The latter have been assured of compensation and a range of additional financial support funded by lynx eco-tourism.
Consultation has begun with several major landowners north of the Border, including Ewen Maclean, a member of the Maclean family which owns Ardgour estate, covering 30,000 acres on the western edge of the potential habitat.
Mr Maclean said: ‘I think it’s a progressive discussion to have about protecting our forests and native wildlife. We’re very supportive of any effort to rebalance the natural environment.
‘I think this is something that can add to the fantastic ecotourism offering already in the region. We have some of the best wildlife in the UK here. Having the lynx back home among it would be wonderful.’