Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Because only male lynxes can still be found in Baden-Württemberg and the stock is endangered, the state wants to release several female lynxes in the coming years. “Baden-Württemberg would like to take responsibility with its lynx reintroduction project in order to improve the transnational lynx population for Baden-Württemberg, Germany and Central Europe and thus make a contribution to the biotope network and biodiversity,” the ministry said.
The first female lynx is to be released next autumn. Others, including breeds according to dpa information, are to follow in the next four years. At the “kick-off” for the project, which was also formulated in the coalition agreement, Minister of Agriculture Peter Hauk (CDU) wants to explain the next steps and the timetable on Friday (10 a.m.) in Stuttgart.
In Baden-Württemberg, lynxes are mainly found in the region from the High Rhine to the northern Black Forest and in the Upper Danube Valley with the hillside forests of the Swabian Jura bordering to the north. So far, however, only male lynx are considered sedentary in the country because females rarely leave their homeland. “An immigration of female animals is not to be expected,” says the ministry.
The lynx had been considered extinct in Baden-Württemberg since the mid-19th century. Since the 1980s, individual animals have been migrating to Baden-Württemberg, mainly from Switzerland. To date, 14 different male lynx (Kuder) are known. Probably the best-known specimen has been given the name Toni.
