Freya → Saxony
The Movie Star
Freya was born in 2024. She and her twin sister Mary have the same parents as Vreni and Verena, who are a year older. Swiss television has made a documentary about Freya.
February 2025: Transport to Germany
Freya is taken to the Hütscheroda Wildcat Village. This wildlife park maintains a special facility where lynxes are kept with as little human contact as possible and are specifically prepared for release into the wild.
September 2025: Release into the Wild
Freya is released into the wild in the Western Ore Mountains in Saxony. The goal of the RELynx Saxony project is to reestablish a lynx population in the forests of Saxony. Wild lynx in Saxony—they were last seen there nearly 300 years ago, apart from the occasional individual migrating from the Czech Republic, Poland, and other regions of Germany.
Freya’s sister, Mary, will be sent to the Dortmund Zoo in Germany as a breeding animal. Like the the Wildnispark Zurich Foundation, the Dortmund Zoo participates in the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA)’s lynx conservation breeding program.
November 2025: Freya featured on Swiss television’s evening program.
The SRF science program “Einstein” followed the female lynx Freya on her journey from the Wildnispark Zurich to the forests of eastern Germany. The report also highlights how critically endangered lynx are in Switzerland. It is titled “Lynx in Distress – Inbreeding Threatens Swiss Wild Population.”
2026: Freya is missing
Freya’s tracking collar failed just 35 days after her release into the wild. Multiple photographic records from hunters confirmed that she was subsequently located a good 20 km northeast of the release site. Unfortunately, there have been no further sightings or evidence of Freya since December 29, 2025. She may be in an area where few camera traps are set up or where hunters have not reported any information. Nevertheless, the project team in Saxony remains optimistic: “Juno, who was released into the wild in Saxony in 2024, was detected again after more than a year without a sighting. In that regard, we hope that Freya is still doing well.”
