In the early 1990s there was a great outburst in the Black Forest. A major row erupted between conservationists, the State Government of Baden-Württemberg, farmers, and hunters. The bone of contention was the lynx. The aim of the 'Lynx Initiative Baden-Württemberg' was to reintroduce the lynx, about 200 years after the last lynx was killed in the Black Forest. For the time being the project has failed as a result of bureaucratic hurdles, but also due to resistance from farming and hunting circles. At this stage the project has faded into the background as it has been upstaged by the lynx itself. Over the past years hunters, foresters and recreationists have repeatly spotted lynx in the Black Forest. A new project 'Lynx monitoring in the Black Forest' now attempts to answer a number of questions, such as whether the animals migrated from the Vosgs or the Swiss Jura, how many specimen there actually are in the area and how the population changes. The 'Lynx Iniative Baden-Württemberg' has initiated the project. The initiative works in close cooperation with the University of Freiburg and is supported by EuroNature. A further aim of the project is to increase the acceptance of the return of this large feline amongst hunters and farmers. The long-term survival of the lynx in the Black Forest will depend on whether humans are ready to cohabit with this species.