Successful recovery of Eurasian lynx population in the Dinaric Mountains and Southeastern Alps

Eurasian lynx is the largest cat in Europe, but high inbreeding levels and illegal killings threaten its survival in Central Europe. To prevent extinction of the highly-inbred and declining Dinaric population and to reintroduce lynx in the Southeastern Alps, we carried out a large-scale conservation programme between 2017 and 2023. This included translocation of 22 wild-caught lynx from the Carpathian Mountains to Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. Throughout the process, we closely monitored the effects of the translocations on the lynx population, on local ecosystems and on the public support for lynx conservation. In this seminar we will go through the impacts of these translocations and provide an overview of the approaches used. Most of the translocated lynx successfully integrated into the local population and reproduced. Post-release movements were partly related to the translocation method (soft-release vs. hard release) and presence of the conspecifics in the release areas. More than 50 lynx kittens born to translocated parents were already detected and average litter size increasing by 37% compared to the lynx from the remnant population. Translocated lynx also rapidly resumed key ecological roles, including predation of herbivore populations and supporting 20 species of vertebrate scavengers by providing food subsidues in the form of prey remains. We also observed several population-level effects of translocations. Namely, the population decline was reversed and lynx densities increased by 44% in the first four years. Also inbreeding was dramatically reduced, with up to a four-fold increase in individual fitness. Transparent communication and strong cooperation with hunters and local communities helped maintain high public support throughout the process. Together, these findings show that genetic rescue, science-based management, and inclusive stakeholder engagement can deliver real conservation success, even in human-dominated landscapes like Central Europe.