Warning of extinction: Lynx in the Alps massively threatened!

Warning of extinction: Lynx in the Alps massively threatened!

Nördliche Kalkalpen, Österreich - On June 10, 2025, the focus is on the lynx and its preservation, since the international day of the lynx will be celebrated on June 11th. The WWF Austria warns that the local population of the lynx is still at risk. In recent decades, since the resettlement of the species in the 1970s, the situation has deteriorated dramatically. The current inventory in Austria has a maximum of 35 lynxes that live in small, isolated groups.

The decreasing number of animals and the cutting of their habitats are opposed to natural reproduction and prevent the exchange between the few stocks. The location in the northern limestone Alps is particularly worrying, where the inventory is hardly considered to survive. The illegal persecution of the lynx also also complicates the already critical situation. The WWF therefore urgently calls for measures to support the stocks and to combat wildlife crime and to improve spatial planning.

The lynx as an ecosystem manager

The lynx plays an important role in the forest ecosystem by regulating the populations of deer and chamois. The northern limestone Alps in Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Styria have been identified as suitable habitats. A feasibility study has shown that there is space for 100 to 250 lynxes in this area on a total of 12,000 square kilometers. Nevertheless, there are currently only seven lynxes in these Alpine regions, five of them in the Kalkalpen National Park.

The situation is precarious because the three remaining lynx deposits in Austria are steeped. In northern Austria, the region has a share in the Böhmisch-Bayischer-Austrian population. In the areas of Mühl- und Waldviertel, 20 to 25 lynxes have been living stable for years, while in Vorarlberg and Tyrol there are only a few lynxes due to a spreading population from Eastern Switzerland. However, the wildlife stock in these regions is still at risk.

inventory support and genetic diversity

A central point for the long -term preservation of the lynx is the genetic diversity within the populations. A low genetic diversity could cause serious problems in the future. Therefore, the creation of wild corridors within the Alps and to connect to other European lynx populations is crucial. Statutory backups of green spaces in spatial planning in all federal states must therefore urgently be implemented.

Austria has shares in two lynx populations: the Bohemian-Bavarian-Austrian population and the alpine lynx population in the Alps. This includes the small lynx deposit in the Kalkalpen National Park and the lynx in Vorarlberg, which are in exchange with the lynxes of the Swiss Northwestern Alps. Measures such as the release of Luchsen in 2011, 2013 and 2017 already showed initial successes, but the youngsters recently stagnated with only one proven young animal in 2018.

The documentation of lynxes with boys in the Rätikon region and in the Bregenz Forest as well as the sporadic appearance of Luchsen in northern Pinzgau and in parts of Styria illustrate the need to support the population. The lynx can only be secured in the long term through coordinated efforts.

For more information on wildlife crime in Austria, visit wwf.at and other details can be found under naturzenschungsbund.at .