A lynx illegally released in the Scottish Highlands has died after capture, raising concerns about wildlife crime and animal welfare.
Kingussie: So, here’s the scoop. One of those lynx that got released illegally in the Scottish Highlands has sadly died after being caught. It’s a real bummer for everyone involved.
They managed to catch two of these big cats on Thursday in the Dell of Killiehuntly area. Then, on Friday, they caught another pair, but one of them didn’t make it through the night.
Now, the police are looking into how these lynx ended up there in the first place. There’s talk about “rogue rewilding” being the reason behind their release.
They used humane traps to catch the lynx and took them to the Highland Wildlife Park. Dr. Helen Senn from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland expressed her sadness over the death, saying they’re not sure what caused it yet but will do a postmortem.
She mentioned that this situation highlights how reckless it is to just drop these animals into the wild without any preparation. It must have been super stressful for all four lynx to suddenly be in such a tough environment.
The surviving lynx will be sent to Edinburgh Zoo for quarantine. The RZSS noted that these lynx are used to humans and are quite tame.
Typically, lynx are shy and solitary, and they rarely attack humans. Edward Mountain, a Conservative MSP, pointed out that the second capture suggests someone is trying to illegally reintroduce these animals.
He stressed that the authorities need to focus on finding out who’s behind this wildlife crime. Police Scotland is still investigating, and they’re working with wildlife experts in the area.
Back in 2021, some charities even started a consultation to see how people felt about bringing Eurasian lynx back to Scotland. But this illegal release? It’s just making things harder for those efforts.
