Discussion
The Eurasian lynx was qualified to the NT category (near threatened) 24 years ago by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as part of the Red Book of Endangered Species and its Polish equivalent (IUNC Red List 2019; Głowaciński 2011).
In Europe, the lynx is protected by the following three directives: the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of the Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which monitors the trade in wild animals and plants; the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats; the FFH Directive (Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC), which regulates the designation and conservation of habitats and wildlife and must be implemented by all EU Member States in national law.
In Poland, according to the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of 28 September 2004 on species of wild protected animals, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is on the list of species of wild animals under strict protection, specifying species requiring active protection (Law journal 2004 No. 220, item 2237). According to the above legal act and the Act of 16 April 2004 on nature protection (Law journal 2004 No. 92, item 880, with changes), it is forbidden to kill, maim, or capture lynx. Destruction of their habitats, as well as the storage and selling of hides without proper permission is also prohibited.
Monitoring of individual populations, has been carried out by the Mammal Research Institute PAS, cooperating with the Association for Nature WOLF and with the Institute of Nature Conservation of the PAS, since 2000. These three institutions acquire information on the predator’s abundance, mainly from inventory programs conducted in forest inspectorates and national parks. The first research project was undertaken in 2001 and was called Optimization of the use of Natura 2000 resources for sustainable development in the Carpathians . A strategy for the protection of lynx in that area was developed, at that time. The Carpathian population was around 100 individuals and was constantly monitored, at that time. The program was aimed at protecting the habitats, migration routes, as well as introducing a diverse forest structure. The acquisition of roe deer and deer was also taken into account in predatory plans for lynx population (Jędrzejewski et al. 2011).
Numbers of lowland lynx have been studied for 10 years by WWF as part of the project, co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund within the Operational Program Infrastructure and Environment. During these years the lynx was reintroduced in the Masurian Lake District (a total of 20 individuals). WWF uses two methods of reintroduction: born to be free and wild to wild,adapting the telemetry and genetic researches (Krzywiński et al. 2012; Jakimiuk et al. 2015).
Studies carried out in 2006 by a group of scientists, analysing if it would be possible to restore lynx to western Poland, showed that the increasing fragmentation of forests and transportation infrastructure is still a great threat to the lynx population due to strongly deforested and densely populated rendering passage across the central part of Poland impossible for them. There is also no connection between the individual parts of forests. Lynx prefer places far from human habitation and roads. The research also showed that the two necessary living conditions of lynx are: close distance to the existing population and more than 40% of forest undergrowth (Niedziałkowska et al. 2006).
Eurasian lynx was widespread in Poland during the Middle Ages. An intense process of reducing the occurrence range took place during the last 300 years, so that by the 20th century the territory in which the lynx could be found had narrowed to the Carpathians and north-eastern part of Poland. The first inventory of this species was carried out in 1928 and found the presence of about 300 individuals. The lynx was counted among game animals then, with limited hunting only in January and February (Okarma 2000). In the interwar period, only in the Białowieża Primeval Forest, lynx’s population was estimated at about 100 animals (Sumiński 1973). In 1955, the lynx hunting period was extended to five months (from November to March). Hunting was banned, along with the recognition of the species as protected, in 1995 (Okarma 2000). At that time, the quantity of different animals was acquired only by two methods: tracking them on the snow and year-round observations. Both methods are not reliable or accurate, because they are burdened with a high error. As indicated by Okarma (2000), during the hunting season of 1972/1973, 212 animals were counted, and a year later, as many as 415. Further data show, that the population of lynx oscillated during the 70s and 80s of the 20th century, between 200 and 600 individuals (Okarma 2000). The data from the first part of Table 2 comes from the report on game animals in Poland and show the state of the spring population (the lynx was a hunting animal in those days). The research was carried out at the request of the Environmental Protection Inspectorate. They were made by the Research Station of the Polish Hunting Association. A decrease in the number of lynx has been observed by 70 individuals, between 1975 and 1991, and the peak number of lynx was in 1980 and 1982, amounting to 640 individuals. A smaller number of lynx was noticed in the second part of Table 2, due to the fact that the data applies only to districts leased by hunting clubs. They constitute about 93% of the existing districts in Poland, and the remaining 7% comprise forest complexes mainly of eastern Poland (also primeval forests), in which Eurasian lynx also appears. However, a huge downward trend in the monitored areas can be noticed. The number of lynx has decreased by 251 individuals over 15 years. The discrepancies that can be seen between Table 2 and 3 reflect the diversity of available sources from which numerical data were obtained. In 1993, the number of lynx fell below 200. Two years later they were under protection.
At the beginning of the 1990s, occurrence of 3-5 specimens of this predator per 100 km2 was found in the Białowieża Forest. Only telemetry studies have enabled a more accurate check of lynx numbers. Thanks to them, the sex and age structure of the population, density and demographic parameters, were known (Okarma 2000).
The most popular science sources indicate the number of lynx living in Poland to be about 200-220 individuals, dividing it into several populations (The Association for Nature WOLF 2006; Zalewski 2011):
Lynx are present only in around 12% of Polish forests (Szmidt et al. 2007).