What about the lynxes in Beskids and Javorniks?
27.5.2016, Carnivores.cz
We have prepared a short overview of what happened in the Beskids and Javorniks in winter. Thanks to camera traps placed in the terrain, we have found out which large carnivores, and especially lynxes, keep inhabiting the eastern mountainous area and which ones have not showed up for a long time.
During the last winter (at the turn of 2015 and 2016), Hnutí DUHA Olomouc coordinated an intensive (so-called deterministic) photo monitoring in the area of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids, Javorniks and Vsetín Hills. What is it about? We use white flash camera traps which help us distinguish the lynxes (determine them) – mostly based on their shape or spots. An accurate determination and an even coverage of the area of interest enable us to determine an exact number of lynxes which occur on the Czech-Slovakia border. This mapping supported by a grant from Island, Lichtenstein and Norway was also joined by other organisations who lent their camera traps: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Unity for Nature Conservation Radhošť and several collaborators from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. About 150 volunteers from Wolf patrols helped us with checking the camera traps.
Ten lynxes and a bear
We managed to catch 86 unique lynxes’ visits. In more than 96% of the cases, it was possible to determine which individual it was. Ten different lynxes were caught on camera traps in total and we are talking about lynxes older than one year which are already able to fend for themselves. Apart from lynxes, a bear appeared a few times as well.
Take a look at a unique photo gallery of lynxes which live in the Beskids and Javorniks.
The Moravian-Silesian Beskids welcomed new lynx kittens last year
Draža is a lynx which we have been keeping an eye on in the Moravia-Silesian Beskids for the longest time. We have known her thanks to camera traps since 2011, when she led two cubs, which means that she is already eight years old. She beat the disease she suffered from in 2013 and once again became a mother of two both in 2014 and 2015. We spotted her in winter with only one cub.
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Draža the lynx with her kitten.
We have been watching Licouse, a male lynx, since 2012 and he is the only male that can be permanently found in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids. He is a father of most kittens which have been born in recent years.
Jiří (called Jiřina in the past when it was thought that he was a female, however the new camera trap shots revealed his real gender) and Kamila are siblings. They were born to Draža in spring of 2014 and celebrate their second birthday while looking for a new home, mainly in the eastern part of the Beskids.
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Jiří, a young male lynx originally named Jiřina.
Kamila, Jiří’s sister and Draža’s daughter.
Žofka is a female lynx who brought two kittens into the world in 2015. We do not know whether or not she is related to any other lynx in the Beskids or Javorniks.
The Javorniks led by the oldest lynx male
The star of the Javorniks is Král, a male lynx also known as Ludvík. We have been following him via camera traps since winter of 2008/2009. As for now, he is at least 10 years old. At the end of winter, we caught him a little injured, most probably due to fights over females. Anyway, he is still in good form – he went on a shorter trip to Kysuce during April.
The star of Javorniks, Král
Olda is Král’s son and he was born in spring 2011. His territory partially coincides with his father’s territory.
Ľubo is a traveler. His territory is the largest out of all the lynxes recorded on the Czech-Slovakia border – more than 300 square kilometres. He spent most of winter in the Javorniks, but travelled to the Kysuce Highlands and Kysuce Beskids.
Ľubo, a lynx which travels from the Javorniks to the Kysuce Highlands.
Heřmína is a female lynx that led three kittens, which means that she has become a mother the third year in a row. An interesting fact is that last year, she was seen with Král in April, which is a month or two later than it is usual for lynxes as they reproduce in February-March.
Photo credit: Vlado Trulík & Hnutí DUHA Olomouc
Hortenzie is of the same age as Kamila and Jiří – she was born about two years ago and her mother is Heřmína. We believe that she will remain in the Javorniks.
The numbers of lynxes are not increasing despite good natural conditions
Compared to last year’s winter, we have not yet seen Lenka, a female lynx, whose cub was run over in Dolní Bečva in autumn, and Anežka. A kitten which was run over was found in Anežka’s territory near Lidečko. Lenka’s distinctively spotted cub which was born in 2014, nameless for the time being, has disappeared as well. It would be three years old this month.
The number of lynxes stagnates despite good conditions in the areas such as the eastern part of the Beskids and the Vsetín Hills. Lynxes have not been permanently found in these places for many years. The number of cubs (at least seven in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids in summer 2015) hints that the potential of lynx‘s occurrence is not fully utilized. Let us hope that young lynxes which are becoming independent of their mothers will enhance the statistics in the upcoming years.
Part-financed by the European Union.
