Alpine Lynx

The lynx (Lynx lynx) was eradicated throughout the Alps during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Nowadays, the lynx and its habitat are protected by international treaties and by national laws in all Alpine countries. Re-introduction programmes in the 1970s have resulted in two small populations, one in the north-western Alps (Switzerland, stretching into France and Italy) and one in the eastern Alps (Slovenia, stretching into Austria and Italy). The two populations ceased to expand in the late 1980s.

SCALP (Status and Conservation of the Alpine Lynx Population) was established in the early 1990s in recognition that no Alpine country alone could host a viable lynx population and that international co operation was essential for the conservation of the species. Scientists from all Alpine countries formed an expert group to survey the status of the lynx in the Alps and to propose and co-ordinate further actions. At the first SCALP conference, held in Engelberg, Swiss Alps, in 1995, the group presented status reports for all Alpine countries and identified the following hindrances to re colonisation of the whole Alps by lynx:

1. biological problems: small populations with a limited capacity to expand in the highly fragmented landscape of the Alps;


2. human dimension problems: low acceptance of the lynx leading to frequent illegal killing; and


3. organisational problems: lack of a common monitoring system and a standardised interpretation of the data, and lack of a common conservation strategy for the whole of the Alps.

Since the Engelberg conference, progress has been made in regard to the organisational problems. The SCALP expert group agreed on a common system of data interpretation and permanent
monitoring. However, the year 2000 update of the status reports published as country reports in Hystrix, Italian Journal of Mammalogy 12, 2001 reveals that biological and human dimension problems continue to persist. In the French and Austrian Alps, Alpine lynx observations are rare or very rare, and lynx in the Italian Trentino region disappeared again.

In Slovenia, the Alpine lynx Cat population can at best be considered stable. In Switzerland, lynx abundance in the north-western Alps increased considerably in the 1990s. However, this increase has not led to a substantial expansion of the population, but has provoked controversy between conservationists and local land users, such as hunters and sheep breeders.

These experiences demonstrate that it is unlikely that Alpin lynx populations can be maintained in the Alps without management. Both the problems of the lynx and the problems of local people with the lynx need to be solved through active interventions. Accordingly, the Swiss management plan for lynx approved the translocation of lynx from the area of high abundance in the northwestern Alps to eastern Switzerland. The basic idea was to trade local lynx abundance for the further expansion of the population. This compromise helps to overcome the low capacity of lynx to expand and at the same time to improve acceptance of the predator. Once the lynx population is considered viable, it is planned to allow limited hunting of local populations in Switzerland.

As probably no Alpine region in the seven countries involved is large enough to host a long-term, viable lynx population, and all will share populations with their neighbours, there needs to be close international co-operation among the Alpine countries. Therefore conservation and management plans, following a common strategy, are also needed in other countries. The SCALP expert group has drafted the Pan-Alpine Conservation Strategy for the Lynx (PACS) on behalf of the Berne Convention/Council of Europe. The PACS aims to secure the survival of the lynx in the Alps by merging the extant populations by means of a network of local populations. To achieve this goal, action is needed throughout the Alps, as well as at country level. All Alpine countries agreed on the strategy by adopting it via the Berne Convention in 2001.

In order to improve future collaboration in lynx management on local, regional and international levels, the 2nd SCALP conference was held in Amden, Eastern Switzerland, from 7–9 May 2003.
Nearly 80 participants from eight countries, and representing 15 Government Organisations, 23 Non-Governmental Organisations and five universities discussed the present status of lynx in each Alpine country; the main problems lynx face in the Alps; and conservation concepts and possible solutions. The conference was sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape and WWF Switzerland.

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