TonThe maverick Derek Gow wore a pair of very small coral pink shorts when introducing his three new Eurasian lynxes. He looks like the exotic Joe of Tiger King on the other side of the Atlantic.
The shy newcomer joined the zoo in his rewilding project in Devon. They are in a large fence with a four-meter high fence, but like more and more environmentalists, Gao hopes to see lynx wandering freely in the countryside.
Surrounded by buttercups, thistles and long grass, it is hard to believe that these exotic cats were native to Britain and have lived here for thousands of years. The black lines around the green eyes give them the breath of an Egyptian pharaoh. During the two hours of observing them, one person climbed up a willow tree, killed a black bird, and then ate it in the long grass. They chirping like crows and playing in the water are pleasing to the eye.
Gow didn’t want to let these specific cats out. He said they came from the British zoo and were too docile. Instead, he wants people to get to know them. “It’s about starting a conversation that might actually go somewhere. Because I don’t talk for the sake of fucking anymore,” he said. Gow thought he had got three women, but “two came with testicles,” he said frankly.
The lynx, known as the British lion cub, survived in Yorkshire until the sixth century AD. Their bones are found in caves across the country, but the village of Lostford in Shropshire (“Lynx’s Ford” in Old English) is considered the only name associated with lynx in the country. The bear and wolf, the two major carnivores in Europe, often appear in folklore and fairy tales. However, lynx, the third largest predator, is gone.
This is because they are lonely, shy creatures. They ambush their prey and do not hunt in groups like wolves.People rarely see them, and it turns out that they have lived secretly in the UK for thousands of years I thought. British lynx disappeared due to habitat loss and human persecution. Many people believe that we have a moral obligation to correct this. The other side of the argument is those who worry that lynx poses a fatal threat to livestock and pets.
Reintroducing wild cats into the environment 500 years after their extinction is complicated. David Hetherington, the author of “Lynx and Us” and an ecologist in Cairngorms National Park, said that providing people with high-quality, reliable information about the species is a successful reintroduction So far, the debate has been fierce and polarized. .
“I think the important thing is to measure the public’s feelings, not to use fancy newspaper headlines to report how they will do all this tomorrow,” he said.
Where do European lynxes live?
Like wolves, the Eurasian lynx population will naturally return throughout Europe after becoming a protected species after centuries of human persecution and clearing of woodland habitat. In the 1950s, there were only 700 in Europe; now there are about 9,000.
According to Hatherington’s book, in the 1960s, environmentalists began to realize the importance of lynx in forest landscapes. Due to the acceptance of the locals, the increase in forest coverage, and the growth of the deer (their main source of food), they recolonized naturally in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, western Russia and the Carpathian Mountains. territory.
In Central and Western Europe, the landforms are more scattered, farming is serious, roads and urban areas criss-cross, which hinders the natural re-colonization of lynxes. Recognizing this, environmentalists began to reintroduce them in the 1970s, establishing populations in Switzerland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and France. The lynx then naturally spread to Italy, Austria, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Reintroducing lynx is less problematic than reintroducing wolves because they don’t hunt in groups, but prefer to hide in woodland.
Projects in Germany and Austria failed mainly because of illegal hunting, which is still a problem, even in countries that have successfully reintroduced lynx.
What are the arguments for reintroducing lynxes into the UK?
One way for lynx to enrich the forest ecosystem is to increase the supply of carcasses. They mainly hunt deer, but they cannot eat a whole animal in one go. They ate a little and hid it, often burying it under leaves or snow. It can take up to a week to eat the entire body.
At the same time, wolves, wolverines, bears, foxes, badgers, pine martens, cormorants, wild boars, and wild cats will feed on it, away from the lynx that usually lurks hundreds of meters away. Birds of prey such as white-tailed eagles, vultures and kites also benefit. Research in Poland found that birds and mammals cleared 80% of the buried carcasses of lynxes.
Animals with a lower pecking order, such as small woodland mammals and birds, will also receive a prize before the body decays, and vice versa Rich ecosystem In the soil.
In Scotland, a large number of deer caused Extensive ecological damage. A report from last year said Scottish forestry spends £4.7 a year to reduce the impact of deer on woodland – More than three times the £1.5 million spent annually on deer management for Scottish natural heritage. The reintroduction of lynx can help reduce the number of deer, which will increase the regeneration of natural woodland.
But although lynx is a key species, they don’t Radically change the landscape like a beaver, And is not suitable for living in all areas of the country. They are lonely ambush hunters. The territory of each animal is generally at least 100 square kilometers, and cats of the same sex do not like to share territory. The landscape cannot support their high density.
Why don’t we want lynx?
Lynx’s dietary preferences may cause problems for it-their appetite for sheep is a serious problem for farmers. However, evidence from countries with similar landscapes to the United Kingdom suggests that sheep casualties are relatively small. Most European sheep graze on open pastures where lynx generally do not hunt.
For example, there are about 300 lynxes in Switzerland, killing 20 to 50 sheep each year, and about 12,500 roe deer and antelope. A permit was issued to kill the lynx in question, but no permit has been issued since 2003. The last lynx was killed by poaching five years ago.
One of the countries with significantly higher interest rates is Norway.This is because up to 2.5 million sheep grazing freely in woodland Hatherington found that there are relatively few deer in the summer.Farmers claim up to 10,000 sheep die every year,although Independent assessment Scientists say that lynx cannot be responsible for all of this.
“Although the UK has the largest sheep population in Europe, the vast majority of sheep are raised on open pastures,” said Hetherington, whose PhD is about the feasibility of reintroducing lynx. Scotland“Most forests have no sheep, but there are a lot of deer. All this shows that we will establish a relationship with lynx that is most likely to replicate what we have seen in Switzerland.”
Where can they be reintroduced to the UK?
Lynx UK Trust believes that the Kielder Forest in Northumberland is the most suitable place to reintroduce lynx because it is a large forested area with few roads and many deer.However, local people have different opinions on this Controversial issue At the end of 2018, the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs rejected a trial application after Nature England’s proposal attracted attention.
In January, in a separate project, environmentalists initiated a One year of study, Lynx to Scotland, Ask farmers, landowners and local communities what they think about the reintroduction of lynx. If their response is positive, a pilot project can be launched to release as many as 40 lynxes around Cairngorm’s forest-covered highland manor within five years. If the public is not interested, the organizers indicate that the project will be cancelled.
Hetherington believes that a total of about 50 lynxes can be raised in southern Scotland and the Kielder forest, and 400 can be raised in the highlands. His research shows Scotland has more than 20,000 square kilometers of lynx habitat. Less populated areas in the UK are more suitable for lynxes, because roads are an important cause of death and will affect people’s ability to colonize new landscapes.
exist NorthumberlandJames Copeland, an environmental consultant for the Northeast of the National Farmers Union (NFU), said that Lynx UK Trust did not take into account the concerns of farmers and locals in the Kielder Forest, many of whom were anxious about the idea of lynx wandering around the countryside.
“Evidence and information submitted to [our members] No guarantee was given to them at any level, so they were left with only one position that they could only oppose. If we provide them with further activities and further guarantees, we will once again listen to the opinions of our members,” Copland said.
Concerns include the risk of livestock being killed by lynx, how to prevent them from escaping from the test release site, and an exit strategy with appropriate financing if everything goes wrong. NFU members also hope to create a special lynx working group by Natural England So agricultural communities can easily raise any concerns they may have.
During the lockdown, discussions were held online. However, Copeland said that due to poor rural broadband, NFU members were unable to join the debate. “Of course, there are some ways to conduct consulting activities to ensure you raise awareness and local support, but so far, we have not seen anything to prove this.”
Paul O’Donoghue, director of Lynx UK Trust, declined to comment.
Martin Kennedy, president of NFU Scotland, said that in the past three to four years, the barbarians have put forward “a long list of brazen and self-righteous claims.”
“Any proposal to reintroduce predators such as lynx, wolves or bears is totally unacceptable to Scottish farmers and farmers,” he argued.
What’s next?
The successful reintroduction of lynxes strongly depends on their acceptance into the landscape by the humans they share. Making room for lynxes in the UK is more about attitudes than about the availability of habitat. The reintroduction of Switzerland is a cautionary tale. It has been resisted by many people. The illegal hunting and killing of lynx is still a serious problem, threatening people’s long-term viability.
Hetherington said that lynx may be reintroduced in 5 to 10 years. Gow does not want to give a date and is more cautious. He said that many people in the UK still strongly oppose it. But both parties agree that the reintroduction of lynx has both risks and opportunities. Winning those who have reasonable doubts should be a top priority.
Natural England confirmed that there is currently no application to reintroduce lynxes into the wild. Any reintroduction plan will consider the socio-economic impact and the impact on the animals themselves.
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