Good News from lynx Verena, born in Wildnispark Zurich

First lynx cubs in Baden-Württemberg in 200 years

The German state of Baden-Württemberg has set a goal of facilitating genetic exchange between the lynx population in the Black Forest and neighboring lynx populations in the Swiss Jura, the Vosges, or the Palatinate Forest through population support measures.

To date, six lynx have been released into the wild to bolster the small lynx population; one of these animals was Verena, who was born in 2023 at Wildnispark Zurich. The total number of independently confirmed lynx in the Black Forest stands at twelve.

Verena’s Lynx Offspring Confirmed

Offspring have now been confirmed for two released females: Elisabeth, who was born at the Chemnitz Zoo, and—much to the delight of the Wildnispark Zurich Foundation—the lynx Verena. She is thus already the second lynx from Wildnispark Zurich to have produced offspring in the wild.

Numerous hairs were recovered from a den that Verena had already abandoned. Analysis at the Senckenberg Center for Wildlife Genetics confirmed DNA from Verena and a cub. It is highly likely that the male lynx Reinhold is the father. An encounter between Reinhold and Verena during the previous mating season had already been confirmed by camera trap images. Lynxes regularly change their dens while raising their young.

A Contribution to Biodiversity Conservation

“The fact that, after two centuries, we can once again record lynx cubs in the Black Forest is the result of many years of collaboration among numerous partners and shows that we are making excellent progress with the project. I would like to thank everyone involved in the project and congratulate them on this success. This is species conservation in action,” explains Marion Gentges, MdL, Minister for Rural Affairs, Agriculture, and Home Affairs. The population support project contributes to international biodiversity conservation and the biodiversity goals of the federal government and the EU.

Zoos Make an Important Contribution

Several of the released lynx come from the European Conservation Breeding Program of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and are valuable to the gene pool of the still-small lynx population in the Black Forest. Wildnispark Zurich also participates in this program and is one of the few zoos in Europe where lynx can be specifically prepared for life in the wild. The various reintroduction projects in Europe are coordinated by the expert network Linking Lynx. 

If you’d like to financially support lynx rearing at the Wildnispark Zurich, you can find a donation form here.

About the “Baden-Württemberg Lynx” project on the BW Wildlife Portal