Research overview: Eurasian lynx distribution and recovery

The Eurasian lynx is the largest of the lynxes and the most widely distributed, ranging across the forests of Europe, the Caucasus, and Siberia into central and eastern Asia. This overview compiles records describing its association with extensive forest and rugged terrain offering cover and ungulate prey. Heavily reduced in Europe by past persecution and deforestation, the species has recovered and recolonized parts of its former range, aided by reintroductions in several countries. Mapping its distribution reveals a patchwork of robust eastern populations and smaller, sometimes reintroduced western ones. Understanding the distribution matters because connectivity between fragmented European populations is central to their long-term viability and to managing the species coexistence with people across a densely settled continent.