The beginning of 2022 was murderous in Franche-Comté for the lynx, a protected and endangered species. Tuesday January 4, a young lynx died hit by a car in the Moirans-en-Montagne sector in the Jura. Sunday January 9, a lynx with unusual behavior was seen and photographed in La-Cluse-et-Mijoux near Pontarlier in the Doubs, very close to the RN 57 and cars. According to the Athénas wildlife conservation association, this animal is in fact injured after being also the victim of a collision. “We try to find him to help him“indicates the director of the Athénas center, Gilles Moyne.
Road shocks are the main cause of death of this endangered species, followed by poaching. In 2021, 13 lynx were killed on the roads of Franche-Comté, and in the Moirans-en-Montagne sector, scene of the January 4 collision, “on a stretch of less than 5 km, at least 6 lynx have already died“recalls the Athénas center.
Specific signage in areas at risk of collision?
The association calls on drivers to slow down, it also puts on the carpet also its proposal to communities and road infrastructure managers of set up specific signage to alert motorists in the areas most at risk: “Moirans-en-Montagne, La-Cluse-et-Mijoux, and the area of Morbier-Les Rousses“explains Gilles Moyne,”where important roads cross the massif transversely“.
The director of the Athénas center regrets that for 7 years, these requests have gone unheeded: “we are told that it is too expensive, that we do not know if it will be useful for something, yet in Spain signs of this type have been installed to protect the Iberian lynx, and they have had a significant effect“. The Jura massif hosts two thirds of the 150 lynxes recorded in France.