Bring Back the Wolf - Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life - page 120

springs on them. Where this species exists, it is a specialist roe deer
predator. 73 In the Jura Mountains in Switzerland, for example, almost
70 per cent of the animals lynx kill are roe deer, followed by chamois,
fox and hare. 74 Where roe deer are scarce, lynx will kill larger species,
such as red deer. Because they are forest animals, seldom leaving the
safety of the trees, they present little danger to sheep, unless farmers
let their animals into the woods.
There is, as far as researchers can discover, no record, or even an
anecdote, of lynx preying on people. 75 They are adept at staying out
of sight, and often remain unknown to the humans among whom they
live. They are likely to perform a favour for landowners: reducing the
populations of deer and foxes. And they could also winkle out the
invasive sika deer (introduced from east Asia) which bury themselves
in young plantations, where they become inaccessible to human
hunters. 76
Again, according to the leading expert on the subject, David
Hetherington, the Scottish Highlands, especially Am Monadh Ruadh -
commonly called the Cairngorms - are likely to be best suited to the
first reintroduction. They have plenty of deer and, thanks in part to
their gloomy plantations of exotic conifers, plenty of cover. A smaller
population, Dr Hetherington suggests, could be established in the
Southern Uplands of Scotland, extending into the Kielder Forest in
northern England. 77 The Highlands could support around 400 lynx,
he says, which should be a genetically viable population; the Southern
Uplands could take around fifty. Unless these regions are connected,
by means of wildlife corridors and special passes over the roads, the
smaller population is unlikely to sustain itself. New woodlands are
being planted fast enough in Scotland to make the reconnection of
these places feasible.
Not all reintroductions succeed. Dr Hetherington offers this handy
tip for avoiding disappointment: 'Don't do what the Italians did in
Gran Paradiso. Only released two lynx. Both male.' 78