Montenegro Searches For its Last, Lost Lynxes

Montenegro has launched a "Lynx Recovery Programme" in order to find out whether any remaining lynxes still live in remote corners of the country - and offer protection if they do.

Only about a hundred lynxes now survive in the wild in the whole of the Balkans, spread over Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo, and some experts fear the number may be as low as only 40.

But there has been no reliable evidence of the cat's presence in Montenegro since 2002.

The Lynx Recovery Programme, developed by the National Parks authority and the Center for the Protection of Birds, aims to protect any animals that may have survived.

The project began in June and the local experts are trying to determine the presence of the wild cats with the help of camera-traps, field research and interviews.

They have interviewed more than 240 people from the national parks at Biogradska Gora, Durmitor and Prokletije, including local residents, security guards, hunters, farmers and forest inspectors.

So far, no fresh evidence of the cats has emerged.

"It is too early to draw conclusions. The aim of this project is to start a recovery of habitats and populations of the Balkan lynx through a series of concrete actions and protection," a representative of the National Parks, Marina Djurovic, told BIRN on Thursday.

The cats can reach a height of 65cm and weight of 25kg and are on the international list of most endangered species.  

Djurovic said it was tragic that humans had hunted them so remorselessly. "The lynx is not dangerous to humans because it is shy and it rarely attacks livestock, either," she said.

"They are hidden, nimble and cautious animals, which are almost impossible to see in nature, and live a lonely...