CHANGE LANGUAGE

The lynx LUNA has arrived in the Tarvisio Forest

Operation by the Carabinieri Forestali of the Biodiversity Group with the support of the Carabinieri CITES and the Veterinary Service of the General Command within the framework of the ULyCA project (Urgent Lynx Conservation Action).

The lynx LUNA has arrived in the Tarvisio Forest

The Forestry Carabinieri of the Biodiversity Group, with the support of the CITES Carabinieri Group and the Veterinary Service of the General Command, have released the female lynx LUNA of Tarvisio forest within the ULyCA project (Urgent Lynx Conservation Action).

With this new female, it allows the territorial male FLORI di to mate with an unrelated female, thus increasing the genetic diversity of the lynx in the area. In the south-eastern Italian Alps, they are currently monitored three male lynxes, but no females.

All the lynxes currently present in the south-eastern Italian Alps were born from lynxes reintroduced within the project LIFE Lynx. From the 2021 to the 2023, six lynxes were released in the south-eastern Slovenian Alps to create a “catwalk population” able to expand and connect with the Dinaric population. Furthermore, five lynxes were released in the south-eastern Italian Alps as part of the project ULyCA. The core area of ​​this new passerine population is located in the Slovenian Julian Alps. Four of the six released females have successfully reproduced. At least 16 pups in seven litters.

LUNA is strengthening the still small presence of lynxes in the south-eastern Alps. She is a young female born in May 2023 in a specialized feline biopark in Hütscheroda, central Germany, where she was specially prepared for release into the wild. She could potentially have the first litter in 2025. Luna is also the eighth lynx released as part of Linking Lynx, a project that brings together experts from zoos, nature parks and reintroduction projects with the common goal of linking existing lynx populations in Central Europe so that exchange between individual populations can take place in the future through natural dispersion: connecting isolated lynx populations to each other is extremely important for the long term survival of the species in Central Europe.

The context

ULyCA (Urgent Lynx Conservation Action) is a project of the Carabinieri Forestali with the support of the Progetto Lince Italia of the University of Turin, which deals with the technical-scientific and logistical aspects. Very important is the support received from WWF Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, from the working group “Hunting and lynx”, as well as from the Biodiversity Service of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and the regional veterinary authority (ASUFC). A wide network of collaborations has led to today's release: the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) and the Deutscher Wildgehegeverband collaborate with the projects of reintroduction and release within the Linking Lynx network – and LUNA was chosen as part of this joint effort to conserve the Carpathian lynx metapopulation.

La lince LUNA è arrivata nella Foresta di Tarvisio

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