Two more lynx cats that were “deliberately abandoned” have been safely captured in the Scottish Highlands, a day after two others were humanely trapped in the same area.
A joint effort by Police Scotland and rangers from the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) led to their capture at 6.30pm on Friday, in the Dell of Killiehuntly area near Kingussie.
That is the same region where two other illegally released lynx were humanely seized on Thursday.
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A pair of lynx were caught in Highlands on Thursday
The nearby Highland Wildlife Park posted a message on X saying: “Two additional lynx who appear to have been deliberately abandoned in the Cairngorms have been safely captured this evening.
“Early reports are that they appear to be in good health, which is the most important thing.”
“It’s been a rollercoaster 48 hours, with people working throughout the day and night, in some extremely challenging conditions,” the statement added.
Police Scotland said: “The animals are now in the care of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).
“Enquiries are continuing to establish the full circumstances of how they came to be in the area, as well as the additional pair of lynx which were captured on Thursday.”
Image:
The first pair of lynx were spotted in the trees. Pic: Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
RZSS chief executive David Field said after the first pair were captured: “We condemn the illegal release of these lynxes in the strongest possible terms.
“It was a highly irresponsible act and it is very unlikely they would have survived in the wild due to a lack of adequate preparation.
“Their abandonment was reckless to the animals, public, the community and nature.”
Image:
One of the lynxes before it was captured on Thursday. Pic: Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
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They were initially named ‘The KillieHuntly Two’, a reference to the Dell of Killiehuntly, the area where they were discovered.
Lynx to Scotland, a project working to return the species to the Highlands, condemned the illegal release of the lynxes.
Peter Cairns, executive director of SBP – one of the charity partners working to make rewilding happen – said: “The Lynx to Scotland project is working to secure the return of lynx to the Scottish Highlands, but irresponsible and illegal releases such as this are simply counter-productive.”