In 1950 the last German lynx was shot dead. After that nothing much was heard of or said about the shy predator. From the early 1970s onward there have been attempts to reintroduce the lynx in Central Europe, and since the fall of the Iron Curtain lynx have been observed to migrate into Central Europe, including Germany. The largest Central European forest region between Austria, Czechia and Germany, the Bavarian and Bohemian Forests play a key role in this development.
An attempt to reintroduce the lynx in the Bavarian Forest in the 1970s was unsuccessful. However, about 10 years later another attempt by Czechian biologists in the Sumava National Park proved successful. Eighteen lynx found a new home offering ideal conditions. They quickly spread, and today the population is estimated to be approximately 150 in size. With the fall of the Iron Curtain the lynx can once again freely migrate in this huge forest habitat and it now also spreads across the national borders. There are regular sightings of lynx in the Mühlviertel region of Upper Austria. Experts estimate that there are now 15 adult specimen in Bavaria.
Specimen occuring in Germany do not just come here from the Czechian Bohemian Forest, there are also 3 to 5 lynx in Saxonian Switzerland. Lynx have also occassionally been recorded in the Palatine Forest and in the Black Forest to where they have possibly migrated from the Vosge and the Swiss Jura region.
Other attempts at reintroducing the lynx in Central Europe have also largely been successful. The northern and central Swiss Alps and the Swiss Jura region are now once again home to approximately 100 lynx. From there some animals have spread to France, and the population in the French Jura region is now estimated at about 40 animals. The core of this population is a group of about 20 lynx which were released in the early 1970s. Further releases in 1975 in Italy and 1983 in the Vosgs were only moderately successful. Especially in the Vosgs the inadequate preparation of the reintroduction attempt caused difficulties. The attempted involvement of livestock farmers and hunters failed completely.
The next nearest natural lynx population can be found in the Slovakian mountains. It consists of hundreds of animals. Other naturally occuring populations further east, in Romania, Poland and Hungary, are estimated by experts to consist of a total of 1500 specimen, and in Scandinavia there are approximately 1200 lynx still at home.
Another success story can be found in Slovakia. In 1973 three males and three females were released into the wild. These animals have developed into a strong population which has now spread south to Croatia and northwest as far as Austria. Thus the Alps are very slowly becoming reoccupied from the south. With the Karst project EuroNature supports the efforts to keep corridors from the Balcans to the Alps open for migrating species such as lynx, wolve and bear.