THE MISSING LYNX
Farmers and landowners have expressed outrage at the idea of reintroducing the lynx to Scotland, but a large carnivore could bring major ecological benefits, believes Polly Pullar
Could the benefits of reintroducing the lynx outweigh the paranoia about the possible return of a large carnivore?
If the lynx was reintroduced to a couple of remote wooded areas of Scotland, I wonder if we would ever know it was there. This beautiful ghost-cat is shy and secretive, and as an ambush predator it seldom kills out in the open. For most of us, its presence would go unnoticed, but the benefits of having an apex predator back in our midst would be immense.
Returning a large carnivore after an absence of three centuries would be a significant milestone in British nature conservation. And, unlike the wolf, though equally as persecuted, the Eurasian lynx, the largest wild felid found in Europe, is not weighed down with negative historical and cultural baggage.
I am fascinated by the debates surrounding reintroduction of lost species, but they often prove frustrating when an uninformed pontificator, the person who won’t listen yet knows it all, dominates the conversation. In the case of lynx reintroduction, it’s vital to explore all the facts prior to passing judgement.
The publication of another glorious book from Scotland: The Big Picture,
The Lynx and Us, written by Dr David Hetherington, an eminent ecologist who lives and works in the Cairngorms National Park, will be an important milestone for the lynx.
Despite its large format and fabulous photographs, mostly taken by the French wildlife photographer Laurent Geslin, this is far from simply another glossy coffee table tome. It is one of the most balanced books I have ever read on the subject of a reintroduction, and has left me deep in thought. Best of all, it has left few, if any, unanswered questions.
Hetherington is certainly not shy in tackling all the issues and concerns
that are raised whenever the lynx is mentioned, especially surrounding the possibilities of conflict with farming and game interests. When I first spoke to Hetherington some years ago I was greatly impressed, for not only can there be few people who know and understand the lynx and its behaviour better, but he also has the valuable ability and patience to see both sides of an entrenched argument.
He has spent hundreds of hours in the field in Europe and Scandinavia, been involved in numerous research ventures and lynx tracking work, and has listened to livestock farmers, hunters, re-wilders, conservationists and members of the public on how lynx reintroductions have impacted their lives – all of which is documented in his engaging text.
Hetherington is a rare scientist who has the skill to put this across in a readable, easily-absorbable manner. Having buried myself in his fascinating narrative, as an advocate of the re-wilding movement, and as someone who feels passionately that it is time we stopped bleeding our ecosystems dry and began to heed the many warnings, I remain convinced.
It seems timely that we bring a large carnivore back into our midst, and that the lynx would be a better initial candidate than the wolf. Possible locations could be the Kielder Forest and wooded parts of the North West Highlands.
‘One of the justifications given by environmentalists for reversing the fortunes of the lynx and other large carnivores is that, without them, our mountain landscapes and forests cease to function properly and are all the poorer for it,’ says Hetherington.
‘By allowing top predators to come back, we restore natural processes such as predation, anti-predator behaviour and the provision of carcasses that would once have shaped and driven our ecosystems for hundreds of years and can enrich them once again.’
On the subject of carcasses, when we shoot deer, all that remains is the gralloch, but when a lynx kills, many other species benefit from the carcass too, and the resulting maggots in turn feed an astonishing array of animals and birds, including small passerines. The area where the carcass has lain has a higher mineral content, and the cleared ground quickly allows a better rate of natural regeneration.
‘We don’t yet completely understand all the intricacies of how lynx and other species interact with one another,’ he says. ‘Deer and lynx populations, for example, rarely remain static. They will almost certainly continue to fluctuate, not only in response to one another, but also to oscillations in weather and changes in vegetation, human behaviour and land use.
‘For some, returning large carnivores to former haunts after an absence of
By allowing top predators to come back, we restore natural processes such as predation, antipredator behaviour and the provision of carcasses
several human generations is a welcome reversal of fortunes, an atonement for past sins that brings with it both ecological and economic opportunities. Others see it as society unwisely turning the clock back and presenting challenges for people who make their living from the countryside.’
It is entirely understandable that sheep farmers should have grave concerns. Listen to Norwegian farmers and they say nothing positive about the presence of this beautiful animal in the dense northern forests. However, as David points out, the Norwegians’ method of sheep husbandry is entirely different to ours – most keep their animals in woodland.
Not so here, where sheep are usually in open fields, or out on the barren hill. In other parts of Europe where sheep are farmed similarly, there are scarcely any incidents of them being killed by lynx. Roe deer is the lynx’s favoured prey, whilst other species of deer will also be taken including fallow, sika and red deer hinds and calves.
The red deer stag is seldom killed, not only due to its size, but also due to the threat of antlers causing mortal injury to a hunting lynx. Currently it is estimated that in Scotland we have between 360,000 and 400,000 red deer, around 200,000 to 350,000 roe deer, some 25,000 sika, and a further 8,000 fallow.
In Europe, where lynx have been reintroduced, there is continuing conflict with sport hunters, and much illegal persecution of lynx. Fears have been raised suggesting that the presence of lynx would impinge on the economic benefits of hunters visiting Scotland each year to stalk.
Given that most of these paying visitors come to shoot red deer stags, and are taken out on the hill on sporting estates in an environment totally unsuited to lynx, and the fact that lynx do not favour the stag as prey, the potential for this particular line of conflict is virtually non-existent.
Currently the presence of deer in commercial and young native woodland causes havoc. Every year Forestry Commission Scotland must cull large numbers to avoid severe damage – in 2013-2014 some 30,000 deer were taken in woodland, but only 11% of those were killed by paying recreational hunters.
Most were shot by paid employees,
There is a moral and ecological argument for restoring them and an abundance of suitable habitat
contract killers who are cheaper than deer fencing but who shoot on sight rather than culling the weakest. If deer were forced to share woodland with lynx, they would be far more inclined to spend their time out on the hill.
Lynx would help keep deer naturally under control and would remove the genetically weakest specimens. Half of the smaller non-native sika deer are shot in woodland. As this is an animal that hybridises with our native red deer, thus posing a threat to its genetic integrity, the presence of lynx in areas they frequent could only be positive.
‘Nonetheless there is a risk that lynx could be sucked into the wider politicised conflict about predators,’ adds Hetherington, ‘especially if their reintroduction is led by conservation organisations involved in the raptor conflict.’
Hetherington was responsible for setting up and managing an awardwinning project helping to conserve our critically endangered wildcat, working closely with local communities and organisations, including the Scottish Gamekeepers Association. ‘Some people have voiced concerns that reintroduced lynx could threaten both the wildcat and the endangered capercaillie by predating on each of them or, in the case of the wildcat, competing for the same food.
‘It is true that lynx can kill and eat these species. Both were recorded in the diet of lynx from the Swiss Jura mountains, but the frequency of these records was very low – one animal of each species (compared to 37 foxes) recorded in a ten-year study of 29 individual lynx. Under normal circumstances lynx, wildcat and capercaillie should be able to co-exist.
‘There is now a better understanding of the lynx’s historical presence in Britain. There is also a moral and ecological argument for restoring them and an abundance of suitable habitat and prey in modern Scotland, with conditions for them set to improve. However, for its reintroduction to become a reality and a success, a consensus needs to be arrived at. That will require everyone to listen and respect each other’s points of view, and perhaps, be prepared to give a little ground. Maybe then, Britain’s little lion can come home.’
So, as Hetherington would put it: ‘Would the lynx have a cat’s chance in hell?’ On a personal note, I have no concerns for us, although I do have grave fears for the lynx. My only reservation on its return being, would it ever truly be safe here? Sadly, we still have a few in our midst who are willing to break the law, and I have no doubt the lynx would become a victim.