The endangered Eurasian lynx might never recover fully in France
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Loading... - Lotta Koskinen
- 20 Feb 2023
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The elusive wildcats face poaching, car accidents, and a dwindling gene pool.
Conservationists in Europe are warning that a population of Eurasian lynx will disappear from France if action is not taken. These elusive wildcats live in the Jura Mountains, a mountain range in eastern France on the border with Switzerland.
After disappearing entirely from France in the 18th century, the wildcats were reintroduced to Switzerland during the 1970s and lynxes moved across the border into France by the end of the decade. A genetic study published February 13 in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science finds that this population needs help and could go extinct within three decades.
“Given the rapid loss of genetic diversity, we estimate that this population will go extinct in less than 30 years,” said co-author Nathan Huvier from the Centre Athenas, in a statement. “This population urgently needs new genetic material to become sustainable.”
Not much is known about this population of lynxes. Scientists estimate that it contains a maximum of 150 adults and is poorly connected to the larger and healthier populations that live in Germany and Switzerland. The population is also not growing to a sustainable size.
The team believes that its population growth has been suppressed by poaching, automobile accidents, and inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression occurs when insufficient genetic diversity in a population leads to problems with reproduction and survival.
“As there is a lack of genetic monitoring of the lynx in France and we consider that crucial for species conservation, we took the lead and did this work,” said Huvier. Read More…
