Could Cairngorms cope with reintroduction of Lynx?
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Badenoch and Strathspey farmers have been visiting Switzerland this week to learn about living with lynx.
They have joined a group of land managers who on Monday set off for a four-day trip from Edinburgh Airport for Geneva, where they were taken on to Lake Neuchatel, an area where lynx have been reintroduced.
The study tour, organised by the Lynx to Scotland partnership, which includes charities Trees for Life, SCOTLAND: The Big Picture and The Lifescape Project, has been visiting several sites where farmers and other land managers coexist with lynx.
"The group will have the chance to speak with counterparts in Switzerland to understand both the benefits and challenges of living with lynx," Peter Cairns of SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, told the Strathy.
"With the conversation around returning lynx to Scotland constantly evolving, it's important that land managers have first-hand knowledge of how people and lynx live together in a human-modified landscape, that is similar to much of Scotland."
The lynx is staging a comeback across mainland Europe, benefiting from increasing public interest and reduced hunting pressure.
The shy and elusive cats continue to face localised threats from poaching and habitat fragmentation, but overall the population is growing and expanding its range, aided by successful reintroduction programmes, Mr Cairns confirmed.
With the party, which is due home tonight (Thursday) are Kingussie crofters Ruaridh Ormiston and John Macpherson, along with Nethy farmer John Kirk and the Cairngorms National Park’s chief Grant Moir and board member Eleanor Mackintosh.
“There are 16 of us in all and it’s an interesting precursor to the lynx reintroduction enquiry,” said Mr Ormiston.
“It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.”
Learn more about lynx: https://www.scotlandbigpicture.com/lynx-to-scotland
