Biting back... the missing lynx set to prowl the hills of Scotland once again
EUROPE’S largest wild cat may soon be roaming Scotland for the first time in centuries.
The Scottish lynx is thought to have become extinct in the early medieval era.
But now the Scottish Government’s wildlife agency has confirmed it will consider reintroducing the Labradorsized predators.
Scottish Natural Heritage is to launch an independent investigation to examine the costs, risks and benefits of bringing back the cats.
Any move to reintroduce the lynx would be controversial with farmers and landowners, who fear they would develop a taste for sheep and lambs. An SNH spokesman confirmed the return of the lynx will be discussed at a summit later this year.
She said: ‘In our role as chair of the National Species Reintroduction Forum (NSRF), we are asking forum members to draw up lists of species they would like to see considered for reintroduction. Lynx has been suggested by several members. We will commission a full independent assessment of the proposals, which will look at the opportunities, risks, costs and benefits.’
Wildlife consultant Roy Dennis, who lobbied the NSRF for lynx reintroduction,
‘Major issues around
public safety’
claimed they could be brought back in only five years. Mr Dennis, director of the Highland Foundation for Wildlife, said: ‘We could restore the lynx to Scotland easily. All that we need is a Minister who realises this would be a fantastic opportunity for eco-tourism.’
But a spokesman for the Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: ‘There are major issues around public safety. Agriculture would suffer because a lynx will take a lamb or a sheep first before it takes a deer.’
Scottish Land and Estates, which represents landowners, claimed ‘conservation fanatics’ were behind the call for the reintroduction. Spokesman Drew Macfarlane-slack added: ‘Reintroducing large predators would cause problems for our farmers.’
Dr David Hetherington compiled a report for Aberdeen University which suggested the Highlands could support 400 lynx, with a population of 50 being viable in the Southern Uplands.
The wildlife adviser with the Cairngorms National Park Authority said: ‘It would be wrong to suggest that lynx would ignore wild prey like deer in favour of sheep.
‘In Switzerland, a lynx population of 120 is taking around 6,000 wild deer a year compared to 20 or 30 sheep.’