Luchs Upper Austria

The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) prefers large, structurally diverse forests with dense undergrowth, old-growth patches, clearings and rocky slopes. It is a solitary, crepuscular and nocturnal stalk-and-ambush predator with extensive home ranges. In Central Europe roe deer make up a substantial share of its prey, supplemented depending on region by chamois, red deer calves, young hares and occasionally foxes. A lynx typically uses a single kill over several nights, returning repeatedly to the carcass.

In the DACH region the lynx was largely exterminated by the middle of the 19th century. Since the 1970s the species has re-established itself through reintroduction projects and immigration from neighbouring countries, including populations in the Bavarian Forest and Bohemian Forest, the Harz, the Alps and the Jura, as well as more recent projects in the Palatinate Forest and the Thuringian Forest. Populations remain small, fragmented and threatened by vehicle collisions, illegal killing and genetic isolation. Conflicts arise above all with pastoral livestock farming when individual lynx prey on sheep on forest-edge pastures, while the influence of the lynx on roe deer and chamois populations is regularly debated within the hunting community.

For hunters the legal position is clear: in the DACH region the lynx is subject to the strict species-protection regime of the EU Habitats Directive and national nature-conservation law; in Germany it also falls under hunting law with a year-round closed season. Capturing or killing is prohibited as a matter of principle. Hunters make an important contribution by taking an active part in monitoring and by reporting sightings, kills, camera-trap images and genetic samples to the responsible authorities. Livestock kills are assessed by the competent authorities; where a lynx kill is confirmed, compensation schemes apply depending on the federal state or canton. In hunting grounds with lynx presence it is advisable to adapt cull planning and ungulate management to the predator's presence in coordination with the responsible authorities.