Lynx Vreni from Wildnipark Zurich has settled in well in Germany
At the end of August, a female lynx that was born in 2023 at Langenberg Wildlife Park in Langnau am Albis was released into the wild in the Thuringian Forest. The animal, named Vreni, has adapted well to life in the wild and has already killed several deer.
Vreni, the female lynx born at Langenberg Wildlife Park, was released into the wild in Germany around a month ago. Now there is good news: "She is doing very well, our young Swiss lynx!" reports Markus Port, project coordinator of "Luchs Thüringen". Initially, she killed small prey animals, but she has now also been able to take several deer. "So although Vreni has never been able to hunt a deer before as an enclosure animal, she is already doing this very successfully and her prey behavior is hardly any different from that of a lynx born in the wild," explains Markus Port.
Karin Hindenlang Clerc, Managing Director of the Foundation Wildnispark Zurich, is delighted: "According to statistics, deer are the main prey of wild lynx. We have specifically prepared Vreni for this at Langenberg Wildlife Park ." Lynx that are to be released into the wild are only given food animals at Wildnispark Zurich that are the same as those in the wild - for example deer and stags, skin and hair. The lynx enclosure at Langenberg Wildlife Park is one of the few in Europe where young lynx can be prepared for an independent life in the wild. They are reared here with as little human contact as possible. The Wildnispark Zurich Foundation is currently collecting donations for this ambitious project.
Positive influence on the forest ecosystem
Karin Hindenlang Clerc: "Lynx play an important role for biodiversity. Their presence has a positive effect on the ecosystem, especially in the forest, by helping to regulate wild ungulates such as roe deer and stags." Among other things, this has a positive impact on the browsing of young trees and benefits forestry, an aspect that is often forgotten in the public debate about large carnivores.
Closeness to male lynx Kilian
Since her release into the wild, Vreni has had an action radius of around 7 km² in the vicinity of her enclosure in the central Thuringian Forest. This means that she is still on the move. However, this is normal for an animal that has just been released into the wild. A wild lynx normally has a home range of over 50 km².
"Based on the current transmitter data, we suspect that Kilian from Nuremberg, who was released into the wild with Vreni, is also still in her vicinity," explains Markus Port. Vreni and Kilian had shared a compartment of the coordination enclosure in the wild cat village of Hütscheroda and got on very well there.
Reintroduction of lynx in Thuringia
The wild lynx populations in Western and Central Europe are threatened by inbreeding, as the individual populations are sometimes very isolated from one another. The "Lynx Thuringia" project aims to connect populations in the Harz Mountains and the Bavarian Forest. More about the project: www.luchs-thueringen.de and www.linking-lynx.org
Further information:
- Wildnispark Zurich: Mirella Wepf, Project Manager Communications, 044 722 55 22, mirella.wepf@wildnispark.ch
- Project Lynx Thuringia: Dr. Markus Port, +49 160 98011164, m.port@bund-thueringen.de
Image material:
Film sequences and a photo in high resolution can be found under this link. Legends:
- Vreni, a female Swiss lynx released into the wild at the end of August, sniffs at a photo trap in the Thuringian Forest. Source: Zurich Wilderness Park/ "Lynx Thuringia" project
- Video of the release: At the same time as Vreni, the male Kilian from Nuremberg Zoo was released into the wild. The video shows Kilian first, followed by Vreni. The female lynx can be recognized by the more pronounced pattern of her fur. source: Zurich Wilderness Park/ Alexander Sommer.
