Balkan lynx facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Balkan lynx |
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| A Balkan lynx in the Zoopark Tirana, Albania | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | Lynx |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: |
L. l. balcanicus
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| Trinomial name | |
| Lynx lynx balcanicus Bures, 1941
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| Synonyms | |
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The Balkan lynx (Lynx lynx balcanicus) is a special type of Eurasian lynx. It belongs to the Lynx family. You can find it in countries like Albania, Kosovo, and western North Macedonia. Some also live in Montenegro. It's a national symbol in North Macedonia. You can even see it on their 5-denar coin!
Experts think only about 35 to 40 Balkan lynx are left in North Macedonia. Most of them live in Mavrovo National Park. This amazing cat is the biggest wild cat in the Balkans region. People saw them in 2011 and 2012 in the mountains of Albania. They were spotted inside the Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park.
The Balkan lynx is in great danger in Albania. It has been protected by law since 1969. But sadly, illegal hunting and losing their homes still threaten them. There are only about 15 to 20 lynx left in Albania. The Balkan lynx has been close to extinction for almost 100 years. There are fewer than 50 of them in total. Their numbers have dropped a lot because of illegal hunting. Balkan lynx usually mate around January and February. They give birth in April.
Contents
Where Balkan Lynx Live
The Balkan lynx lives in the southwestern Balkans. This includes Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and possibly Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece. This area is home to a very small group of Balkan lynx. There are only about 30 adult lynx living across a huge area of 5,000 square kilometers.
Their numbers were very low around 1935-1940. Only about 15-20 lynx were thought to be alive then. After World War II, their population seemed to get better. By the mid-1970s, there were about 280 lynx in 1974. But after that, their numbers dropped fast. By the year 2000, there were only 90 lynx left.
Balkan lynx live in different kinds of forests. They can be found in forests with trees that lose their leaves (deciduous). They also live in forests with evergreen trees and mixed forests. Sometimes, they hunt in bushy areas or high mountain pastures in the summer. They don't move to new areas for different seasons.
They mostly hunt roe deer, young chamois, and European hare. Because there are so few of them, the Balkan lynx is considered critically endangered. They are split into two main groups. One group lives in Mavrovo National Park. The other lives in Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
The mating season for Balkan lynx is from February to mid-April. The female is ready to mate for about three days. Male and female lynx sometimes eat together during this time.
A mother lynx can have one to five kittens. On average, she has two or three kittens. A newborn lynx weighs about 300 grams. When they are three months old, kittens start to follow their mother. They leave their rock cave den to eat meat from her hunts. Around ten months old, usually in March or April, the kittens leave their mothers. They then start to live on their own.
Behavior of Lynx
Lynx mostly live alone, except when they mate or raise their cubs. Lynx mark their areas with special smells, urine, or feces. Male lynx have bigger areas. This helps them find one or two females. Male territories can be very large, from 180 to 2,780 square kilometers. Female territories are smaller, from 98 to 759 square kilometers. Sometimes, mothers and their daughters have areas that overlap a lot.
Lynx are active during the evening and night. They usually sleep during the day.
The Lynx family of cats often hunts smaller animals. These include hares, pikas, and rabbits. However, the Eurasian lynx also hunts small ungulates. These are animals with hooves, like wild boar and chamois. They also hunt young red deer and European fallow deer. They can also hunt smaller deer species. This includes roe deer and musk deer.
Lynx are known to hunt a good number of roe deer in northern Europe. But roe deer have many fawns each year. So, lynx usually don't threaten their overall numbers. Sometimes, lynx will hunt farm animals or chickens. But they usually try to stay away from places where people live.
Threats to Balkan Lynx
The biggest dangers to the Balkan lynx are their small population. They are also losing their homes. And illegal hunting is a big problem. Illegal hunting harms the lynx in two ways. Hunters who hunt small animals like roe deer, chamois, and hares reduce the lynx's food supply. It is against the law to hunt Balkan lynx. But there is still a market for their fur. Also, some stuffed lynx are seen as decorations in restaurants. This happens in the countryside of Albania and North Macedonia.
Tourist places and fun activities don't affect the lynx much. But sport hunting and ski resorts can bother the lynx. This is especially true in national parks where most lynx live. Losing their homes is a big problem, mainly in Albania. There, logging (cutting down trees) has harmed the environment. This negatively affects the Balkan lynx. Albania's forests have been recovering from too much logging since the 1800s. Even though it's illegal to cut trees in protected lynx areas, it still happens. This could destroy the only homes the Balkan lynx have left.
Because there are so few lynx, it's hard for adult lynx to find each other to mate. The lynx population is split into two groups. One is in Albania, and the other in North Macedonia. This makes mating even harder. However, a program called the Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme has helped stabilize both groups. There is a small worry that other lynx types might mix with the Balkan lynx. This could change their unique genes.
People's feelings about the Balkan lynx have been studied. Most people have positive feelings. But many don't know much about them. They often have wrong ideas about their size, behavior, and how they live in nature. Building the Skavica Hydroelectric power plant could also make things worse. The area for the planned dam is a main path for lynx moving between the two groups. This could completely separate them.
Protecting the Balkan Lynx
The Balkan lynx is listed as a critically endangered subspecies. This is the highest risk category for species in danger. This listing is by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Balkan lynx is also protected by several international agreements. These include the Convention for International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) and the Bern Convention. All countries where the lynx lives also protect it.
A three-year program called the Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme (BLRP) started in 2006. Its goal was to protect lynx and their homes in Albania and North Macedonia. This program was supported by the MAVA Foundation from Switzerland. The program aimed to count and watch the lynx population. They gathered information on where lynx live, how their numbers are changing, and their homes. They also worked to create plans to protect the lynx. They tried to get more protected areas for the lynx. And they built partnerships with people working in nature protection. The Balkan lynx was chosen as a key animal for this effort. At the same time, a project about people and lynx started. It was funded by the Research Council of Norway. This project looked at how people and large wild animals get along. It also studied problems, local people's attitudes, and challenges in working together across borders.
The second part of the Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme began in 2010. It continued the work from 2006. This time, they started a deeper scientific study on the Balkan lynx. This was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. During this time, three male lynx were caught. They were fitted with GPS collars. This helped track their movements. A strong monitoring system was set up where lynx mostly live. A network to watch other wildlife was also created. This project lasted from 2010 to 2012. The third part of the BLRP started in 2013 and went until 2016. It focused on telling primary school students about the serious situation of the Balkan lynx. This was done locally, nationally, and internationally. They also kept watching the main areas where the Balkan lynx live. And they expanded the project to include research in both North Macedonia and Albania.
