Until recently it was just a suspicion, but now photos taken by a camera trap have delivered the long-awaited proof: the territory of the Balkan lynx, a species threatened with extinction, also includes the Pelister National Park in southern Macedonia.
For the first time there is evidence of the presence of Balkan lynx in the Pelister National Park.
© Joachim FlachsIn mid-November the national park authorities supplied EuroNatur’s Macedonian partner organisation, the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES), with three photos. These show the shadowy image of a Balkan lynx taken a few weeks before by a camera trap in the national park. Lynx experts at the MES are working on the assumption that the shy hunter could have migrated from the Mavrovo national park in south west Macedonia. The two protected areas are connected by the Illinska-Plakenska mountain range. “This new evidence underlines the importance of the mountains as a possible corridor connecting two valuable areas of habitat for the Balkan lynx,” says EuroNatur project leader Thies Geertz.
As a part of the Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme (supported by the Mava foundation), EuroNatur is campaigning hard with its partners for the Illinska-Plakenska mountains to be protected. The long-term aim is to establish a continuous network of protected areas to facilitate exchange between scattered populations.
More about EuroNatur’s project to protect the Balkan lynx