Liberec, North Bohemia, Jan 19 (CTK) – Photo traps have confirmed the presence of lynx in the Jizerske hory mountains, north Bohemia, where the species was killed out in the 18th century, but it is not clear where the lynx has come from, Jan Pinos, from the Friends of the Earth group, told CTK yesterday.
It is not sure whether the lynx on the photo is a migrating animal or a permanent inhabitant of the mountain range.
Nor is it sure whether the lynx population has been returning to the area from the Sumava mountains, southwest Bohemia, the Carpathians, or its other European habitats. This may be determined based on an analysis of their droppings, Pinos said.
“For the local nature protectors and forest keepers, the photo trap snap means the confirmation of what they have known for several years, that lynxes have been returning to our mountains and becoming a rare but, let’s hope, permanent part of the local protected nature area,” Jiri Husek, from the local branch of the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency, said.
The lynx’s presence has been confirmed thanks to the cooperation between the agency, the Friends of the Earth group and the Jizerske Hory protected nature area management on monitoring Europe’s significant beast of prey species.
The new snap is the first to register a lynx on the Czech side of Jizerske hory. Last year, a lynx was registered on the Polish side and in the past years in nearby Krkonose (Giant Mountains).
“The lynx and wolf have been returning to our border mountains. It is an excellent piece of news for the fans of our nature and also for forest keepers and forests…where the lynx regulates the ungulate population and helps maintain natural balance,” said Miroslav Kutal, the Friends of the Earth’s expert in the protection of big beast of prey.
