Securing a Safe Haven for the Balkan Lynx

The Macedonian wildcat, or Balkan lynx, is a national symbol of Macedonia and one of the rarest animals in the world.

Illegal waste dumping, construction and poaching have led to the species being classified as Critically Endangered on the Red List of threatened species, which is maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The List, which catalogues all species estimated to be at risk of extinction, is used worldwide to inform and support conservation decisions. 

Under a UN Environment project funded by the Global Environment Facility, a study is now being carried out on the natural values of Shar Mountain in Macedonia. This will feed into decisions on what activities will be permitted in a new national park that the country aims to establish. The work takes place within Macedonia's Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning and would designate Shar Mountain as a biodiversity hotspot and protected area.

The project is also training officials in the country to develop a National Red List Index in collaboration with IUCN. This will support efforts to save endangered species and is also in line with the country's bid to join the European Union.

Habitat under siege

Just 60-70 Balkan lynx are now believed to roam the Balkans - mostly in Mavrovo National Park and some on Shar Mountain. Yet illegal poaching, the decline of prey, landscape degradation and construction are posing grave threats to the region's largest cat.

"We are witnessing illegal activities - mainly hunting and construction on Shar Mountain - which have a significant impact on the living environment of the Balkan Lynx and other endangered species," explained one of the professors involved in the...