Lucerne: Successful Rewilding of a Lynx
The orphaned, hand-reared, and subsequently rewilded male lynx (tom = male lynx) displays a remarkable characteristic: the animal carries genetic traces from the Jura population in its DNA. This indicates that one of its parents or grandparents originated from the Jura. This individual provides the first genetic evidence that one of its ancestors migrated from the Jura population into the Alpine population. This finding gives the rewilding project particular significance from a wildlife biology perspective.
In June, a young lynx was released into the wild in the Eigental. It has successfully established itself in the wild during its first three months. The orphaned animal was captured in autumn 2018 in the basement of a building in Malters by the wildlife rangers and subsequently brought to Tierpark Goldau for care. The lynx wears a radio collar, allowing the behaviour of the young lynx in the wild to be monitored.
On the night of 12 June 2019, the orphaned young male lynx was released into the wild in the Eigental. The local hunting society had given the green light for the release on their territory, and representatives were present at the release. Immediately after being released, the lynx displayed a small home range of less than one square kilometre. Only gradually did it expand its territory to a few square kilometres. Up to ten days after the release, no confirmed kill could be established from the location data. Whether the young animal would successfully learn to hunt without guidance from its mother was one of the greatest uncertainties.
The young lynx has learned to hold its own in the wild
Two weeks after its release into the wild, the lynx made its first kill — a roe deer buck — 400 meters from its release site. Over the next ten days, the lynx expanded its range by around 2 kilometers to the east and caught a fox. The very next day, the lynx killed a sheep lamb. To prevent it from developing a specialization in livestock, the sheep carcass was “electrified” — that is, surrounded with electric fence wire. The lynx was meant to experience the killed livestock as “unattractive prey.” To date, this lamb has remained the only livestock killed.
Lynx Malters 
Lynx Malters 
Lynx Malters 
Lynx Malters
Home range expanded to 50 square kilometers
From mid-July 2019, the lynx began to expand its range. Its territory now covers around 50 square kilometers. The lynx wears a transmitter collar that regularly sends out position reports. These reports are received by KORA, the coordination center for predators, and subjected to an initial assessment by lynx specialists. Drawing on their experience, they identify possible kill sites from the data before it is forwarded — collected over a few days at a time — to the Lucerne wildlife wardens. Where possible, the wardens check the potential kill sites with the help of service dog “Muck,” who sniffs out the carcasses that the lynx has neatly concealed under leaves. The lynx’s main prey over the past three months has been roe deer, half of which were fawns. Other prey included a chamois kid, several foxes, and a cat roaming in the forest.
