Research overview: Eurasian lynx reintroduction in Europe

The Eurasian lynx was exterminated from much of central and western Europe and has since been reintroduced to several regions, including the Alps, the Jura, and parts of central Europe. This overview surveys research on these reintroductions, which aimed to restore a native predator to landscapes from which it had vanished. Studies examine founder sourcing, often from Carpathian populations, post-release survival and breeding, the slow growth and fragility of reintroduced populations, and persistent challenges including illegal killing, vehicle collisions, and limited genetic diversity among small founder groups. Researchers assess connectivity between reintroduced populations and the prospects for them to coalesce into a viable network. The overview frames Eurasian lynx reintroduction as a long-running European experiment in restoring large carnivores to human-dominated landscapes, illustrating both the feasibility of bringing back a lost cat and the ongoing difficulties of building self-sustaining, connected, genetically healthy populations.