Verena → Black Forest
Led to the first litter of lynx in Baden-Württemberg in 200 years.
Verena was born in 2023. Like her sister Vreni, whom she looks just like, she has passed all the behavioral and health tests required for release into the wild.
February 2024: Transport to Germany
Verena is taken to the Hütscheroda Wildcat Village. This wildlife park maintains a special facility where lynx are kept with as little human contact as possible and are specifically prepared for release into the wild.
November 2024: Release into the Wild
Verena is released into the wild in the Black Forest as part of the “Baden-Württemberg Lynx Initiative.”
A video from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Food, Rural Affairs, and Consumer Protection captures the release in striking detail.
July 2026: First lynx cubs in Baden-Württemberg in 200 years
DNA analyses of hair samples from an abandoned den prove that Verena gave birth to at least one cub. The father is presumably the male lynx Reinhold, who was released into the wild at the same location three weeks after Verena. At the same time as Verena, the released female lynx Elisabeth also gave birth to cubs. The birth of these cubs is a major success for the project: It is the first lynx litter in Baden-Württemberg in about 200 years!
