They come to the aid of the last lynx in France

A limping lynx, injured for 15 days, is the next intervention of Gilles Moyne, the director of the Center Athénas, and his team. Weakened by a fractured tibia, the animal finds it difficult to move and therefore to hunt for food. The team will capture him in order to be able to treat him, before releasing him at the end of his convalescence. “Each year, we have to intervene in around twenty cases, and this results in the capture and treatment of around ten individuals.” indicates Gilles Moyne.

Lynx are becoming increasingly rare in France. According to the team of healers, he would remain on the whole of French territory “about 150 adult lynx. It is an endangered species and it is important to protect it” says Gilles Moyne. “The threats to which the lynx is exposed, it is mainly, for the young, the disappearance of the mothers by road collision or by poaching. So we are led to treat either very thin young orphans, or rather heavy traumatology for individuals who have been victims of accidents” indicates the director.

Lynx threatened with extinction “in 30 to 40 years”

To be able to heal them, the team makes a capture. “And then, when they are ready to be released, they are fitted with a GPS collar and they are released in a suitable environment. And then they will be tracked for a full year”.

The team is also working to break the superpredator label stuck to the lynx. “His role is often simplified to deer cruncher, which is completely false. Precisely, the fact that it assumes its role of superpredator and great equalizer by also consuming predators, it is really important to highlight it” explains Gilles Moyne. “We are still in a population that is subject to high excess mortality. In the worst case scenario, in 30 to 40 years, we could end up disappearing” warns the director.