A cuddly glimmer of hope: Maya's offspring
© Panajot Chorovski/MESToday fewer than 50 Balkan lynx range across the mountain forests of the western Balkans. In February 2017, scientists from EuroNatur’s Macedonian partner organisation MES fitted Maya, a female lynx, with a tracking device so that they could find out more about this rare cat’s behaviour and protect it more effectively. The GPS data from this has now led conservationists to Maya’s den near the perimeter of the Mavrovo national park. Here they came across a healthy baby lynx. The Macedonian national park is one of only two areas up to now where scientists have found evidence of Balkan lynx successfully rearing young.
"It is a great thing to be able to see this baby lynx, hale and hearty,” says Panajot Chorovski, who is visibly moved by the sight. A local hunter himself, he really knows his way around the area and is proud to have taken the first photos of the lynx offspring. And as a representative of the local hunting club, Panajot is working in close cooperation with conservationists from MES. They are all now hoping to be able to gain further information about the way these shy cats rear their young.
Find out more about EuroNatur's work to protect the Balkan lynx in this video
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