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Katharine Hay goes to the site where four lynx were illegally released in the Scottish Highlands
The Scotsman
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13/01/2025
Four lynx were illegally released into the wild near Kingussie, in the Cairngorms. Katharine Hay goes to investigate how they got there.
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00:00
Hello, Catherine Hay, Rural Affairs Correspondent at the Scotsman here.
00:05
So I'm just standing at the site where the pair of lynx were first spotted on Wednesday afternoon
00:12
before what has recently evolved, which was another two lynx were subsequently found
00:19
not far from here on Friday morning.
00:23
So I'm standing in an area near Canoosie in the Scottish Highlands, which is in the Cairngorms National Park.
00:30
It's about 50 miles south of Inverness and four lynx, at least four lynx in total so far
00:37
have been released illegally into the wild.
00:40
They've all since been recaptured successfully by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
00:46
with the support of many conservationists, Police Scotland and the Highland Wildlife Park
00:51
where the four cats were taken to once they were successfully recaptured.
00:57
Sadly, since the last pair were taken in just a few hours later, one of them died.
01:05
There's a post-mortem that's yet to be done and I've had confirmation from the Zoological Society
01:12
that that will probably happen at some point next week and we'll get the results either next week
01:17
or sort of in the next 10 days, hopefully.
01:19
Unfortunately overnight we've had the news that one of the lynx hasn't made it.
01:24
So at the moment it's very recent and we don't know what the reason for that is
01:29
and of course we'll be conducting a full post-mortem.
01:32
And the other lynx is going down to Edinburgh to join the other two animals down there.
01:38
So obviously this is a shame in terms of the outcome, a real shame in terms of the outcome for that animal
01:45
and it just illustrates the risks of these sorts of scenarios.
01:50
One of the experts was saying that these cats were clearly domesticated in some way
01:57
because they were pretty tame as far as lynx are.
02:01
They also were in pairs and it's likely that they were maybe siblings, maybe came from the same litter.
02:09
And so putting them out in conditions like last night, which the Met Office was saying
02:15
was certainly coldest January night that we've had in 15 years.
02:20
One farm not far from here actually recorded temperatures of minus 19.
02:25
So yeah, you can imagine for a cat that's used to sort of human feeding it and maybe warmth,
02:33
putting it out in conditions like this were probably not very good for it.
02:36
And then from the evidence that we've seen and from the behaviour and the manner and evidence
02:40
that was around the scene that was collected by the police,
02:43
it appears that these are certainly captive animals, very habituated to people.
02:48
Where they've come from, exactly when they came we're not quite sure.
02:52
It seems like they were released very recently following the first sighting, prior to the first sighting.
03:00
So what kind of facility they were kept in previously by who we're not sure,
03:05
the motive we're not sure and we're doing everything we can to help the police.
03:08
What we know is that these animals have been released into a very, very harsh environment,
03:13
very harsh climate.
03:15
From everything we've seen, from all the evidence and behaviour,
03:18
it doesn't look like these animals are in any way ready for this.
03:21
They've, I don't think, been prepared for life in the wild.
03:24
They're very habituated to people.
03:26
This is one of the coldest, if not the coldest night that we've had all year.
03:31
And it's a real shame for these animals.
03:33
So we've done an incredible job with all of our team here in RZSS
03:37
and the local community, the landowners, the farmers, Cairngorm Rangers and the police
03:43
in getting these animals out of that horrible situation that they've been put through over the last few days.
03:50
And thankfully we can have these animals in a safe environment now.
03:54
So just in the lay-by where the legs were supposedly dumped and illegally released,
04:03
you can see down here that there's some straw.
04:05
What is quite interesting is there are some porcupine quills as well,
04:11
which suggests that the animals came from somewhere where somebody's also holding some other exotic animals.
04:19
There was also apparently some dead chicks just lying down here, which have since been removed.
04:24
But there are some feathers as well that show that there were some birds.
04:29
But yes, all pointing to the fact that these animals were held in captivity
04:35
or held in a private facility before they were then illegally released.
04:41
And is there a possibility that there's any more out there?
04:44
There have been talks in the town that there might have been six released.
04:48
Well, I think we just don't know is the answer.
04:52
I think obviously the reason why we were able to pick up the second two
04:56
is because we've been monitoring at the first release site
04:59
and we're continuing to conduct ongoing monitoring under the direction of Police Scotland.
05:04
And I think obviously it's important for us to keep that possibility open.
05:10
At the moment we have no indication there's any additional animals out there
05:13
and hopefully this is going to be a conclusion for this really quite full-on scenario
05:21
that's involved a huge number of people and we're extremely grateful for everyone's help.
05:27
And it's people who've just been able to mobilise at very short notice
05:31
to bring this really challenging scenario to a conclusion.
05:35
So yeah, it's been an interesting story unfolding.
05:38
We don't know who put them here.
05:40
There's been some wild theories going around.
05:42
Some groups have come out, including the Mammal Society, and said that it's rogue rewilders.
05:49
There are people who are desperate for lynx to be back in Scotland.
05:53
But I know Peter Cairns of Scotland the Big Picture, which is a rewilding charity
05:58
and which is very behind reintroducing lynx legally into the country.
06:02
They said this has been a huge disappointment to their campaigning
06:06
because it's going to really set them back.
06:08
And then you've got farmers and crofters from the Cairngorms Farmers and Crofting Association
06:14
who are obviously understandably very anxious about what's just happened.
06:18
I was just speaking to one farmer who was saying that her sheep were right next to where the lynx were spotted,
06:25
actually right here.
06:27
So it was obviously deeply concerning for them, their livelihoods at risk,
06:31
with having big cats released so close to their livestock.
06:37
So while we now know a little bit more about the lynx and what's happened to them,
06:41
I'm just going to go and talk to some people to see how they feel about what's happened over the last few days,
06:50
how it could impact people who are living in and nearby the area where the lynx were illegally reintroduced.
07:00
Hello, my name is John McPherson. I'm the secretary of the Cairngorm Crofters and Farmers Community.
07:06
Our association wholly condemns this illegal introduction of lynx to the countryside
07:16
and we hope that Police Scotland catch the perpetrators and they face the full force of the law.
07:22
That's the first and foremost thoughts of all the community up here.
07:29
Were there concerns among farmers and crofters at the time, given there being lynx in use?
07:36
Well, the lynx were released in an area very close to a number of our members' sheep farms
07:44
and obviously there was concern as regards how they would habitat or how they would maybe predate on sheep and farm animals.
07:56
What does the organisation feel about the conversations around the reintroduction of lynx,
08:01
ones that will hopefully, if that does happen, be introduced legally?
08:05
Well, I was part of a study tour to Switzerland last year.
08:10
It was sponsored by Scotland The Big Picture
08:13
and it was myself and other farmers, crofters and Cairngorm National Park officials
08:19
invited over to see for ourselves and to speak with farmers, foresters and hunters in Switzerland
08:26
as to how they've managed the introduction of lynx over there during the last 50 years.
08:32
So that was a good trip to get some background and to start the conversation
08:39
but it needs a very wide-ranging consultation with all the stakeholders
08:45
in order to fully appreciate what a reintroduction might look like if it ever takes place.
08:54
So yeah, there's all sorts of different responses and reactions at the moment going round
08:59
and police said that there is an ongoing investigation to try and find out who released these big cats into the wild illegally
09:07
which was certainly a welfare risk to the cats themselves
09:11
but also has disturbed open dialogue about the reintroduction programme of lynx
09:18
and also made farmers and crofters concerned for the welfare of their animals and their livelihoods.
09:26
We'll be updating the story as and when we get any more details
09:30
so just keep an eye on The Scotsman and there'll be more information to come as this story continues to evolve.
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