Two more lynx have been spotted in the Scottish Highlands as the police warned the public not to approach the predators. The sighting, on Friday morning, follows the capture of two big cats earlier in the week.
Officers say the sighting is linked to the previous release. The animals were seen around 7.10am on January 10 in the Dell of Killiehuntly area near Kingussie.
A Police Scotland statement said: “Members of the public are asked not to approach the animals and officers are working with specially trained personnel to capture them. Enquiries suggest the sighting is connected with a release of two lynx seen in the same area on Wednesday, 8 January. They were safely captured on Thursday, 9 January.
“Enquiries are continuing to establish the full circumstances of both sightings.”If anyone saw anything in the area or has any information then please call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0387 of Friday, 10 January, 2025.”
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The cats caught earlier in the week had been spotted in the Drumguish area, near Kingussie, on Wednesday prompting a huge ‘cathunt’ by the authorities. Experts from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) deployed specialist equipment to capture the predators.
The pair will spend 30 days in isolation at the Highland Wildlife Park before they are transferred to Edinburgh Zoo. The cats could return to the Highland Wildlife Park in the long-term to join two grown Northern Lynx, named Switch and Neon.
The lynx on the loose earlier this week.
(Image: Royal Zoological Society of Scotland/SWNS.)
Police suspect an “illegal release” was to blame for the cats, not usually dangerous to humans, being in the Cairngorms. It comes amid a bid to reintroduce the lynx to the wild in Scotland.
The animal was once found throughout Britain but was driven out over 500 years ago. Those behind efforts to bring the animal back to the wild in Scotland have warned the incident could actually hamper their efforts.
The Lynx to Scotland Project is a three-charity partnership spearheading efforts to bring the lynx back to the Scottish countryside. Peter Cairns, executive director of Scotland: The Big Picture, one of the charities involved, said “irresponsible and illegal releases such as this are simply counter-productive”.
And Steve Micklewright, Chief Executive of Trees for Life, added: “The Lynx to Scotland project is working towards a carefully planned reintroduction of lynx that respects the views of farmers and other stakeholders – so that Scotland would once again benefit from having lynx in the natural environment.
“Scotland is one of a handful of European countries still lacking a large terrestrial mammal predator. If we are serious about tackling the nature and climate emergencies, we need lynx back.
“A lynx reintroduction would require Scottish Government approval, with habitat assessments and full public consultation.” It is thought the Highlands could sustain a lynx population of around 400.
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