Poor old Lynx

Lillith the lynx that has escaped from a zoo in Borth has been accused of killing a number of sheep. A farmer from Wales has accompanied the zoo owners to show the corpses of seven dead sheep to them. The lynx apparently trailed the farmer and zoo owners from a distance of 10 meters. This is some brave lynx as at 10 metres a shotgun could be used to blast the feline into cat heaven.

There is no hard evidence yet that Lillith killed these sheep and even if she did this is no reason to stop the the re-introduction of wild lynxes into UK forests. Contrary to what some farmers representatives are saying, the lynx will represent no real danger to sheep.

In the wild young lynxes learn to hunt for deer, foxes and other wild animals at night. They do not learn to attack sheep. Neither will the lynx make an unprovoked attack on a human being. They are clever enough to avoid human contact. A lynx will only be a danger if you corner it or try to molest its young.

The whole purpose of re-introducing the lynx to the UK is to help control the deer population by keeping the deer on the move. Deer are causing considerable damage to parks and farmland. The deer population is growing out of control because we have extirpated their predators - wolves, bears and lynxes. There are not enough experienced hunters to make culling efficient. In many areas it is not possible to loose off bullets without endangering human beings.

The re-introduction of the lynx is a sensible idea to provide a natural solution to deer over population.

There is no need for farmers to fear the lynx or to spread fear stories that these cats will attack the general public. Farmers can easily be compensated for the few sheep that the lynx might take.

Dogs are a far greater danger to sheep.

The lynx is so good at hiding that I doubt that members of the public will ever come across one in the wild. They are difficult to see in a zoo enclosure. It took 5 days for the zoo owners to find out that the lynx had escaped as they were used to it hiding away.

The time has come for some farmers to stop whinging and accept that re-introducing the lynx might improve our environment according to good scientific research. It is time to put away the gun as far as the lynx is concerned and time to engage the brain. 


https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/07/lillith-the-lynx-blamed-for-seven-sheep-deaths-in-north-wales