The West Pomeranian Nature Society has released a female lynx into nature to mark the 60th anniversary of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The lynx arrived in Poland from Germany and for a few weeks she was being prepared to living free.
The 12-month-old female lynx was brought to Poland from a private Germany. As they don't let lynxes into the wild in Germany, the animal was taken to Poland in March, where there is a need to rescue the species.
In Poland, the lynx underwent a special "adaptive training" in which her instincts were enforced and she was taught to live free. "These are difficult processes, but luckily lynxes hugely rely on their instincts. Hunting is natural for them" - said Marcin Grzegorzek from the West Pomeranian Nature Society (ZTP).
The female lynx met all necessary conditions to be released free, she got vaccinated and her health was checked. "She's very big. She weighs 19,5 kilograms, so she won't have any problems with her prey in the wild" - Grzegorzek said. On Monday she has been released in the West Pomeranian woods.
The scientists, however, do not plan to stop taking care of the feline. She has been fitted with a special collar with a GPS tracker. This way they will monitor her behaviour and make sure she is doing fine and is healthy.
The operation of letting the female lynx into the wild was part of bigger project of reintroducing of lynx population in Poland. The ZTP supports the WWF, which is celebrating its 60th year of existence. The release of the lynx was a birthday gift for the WWF.
There are only approx. 150 specimen of Northern lynx living in Polish forests. This is mainly due to human activity. They can be found only is 12 percent of Polish forests. Without our help this species has no chance to survive.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24 Pomorze
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: TVN24