Monitoring_Lynx-lynx-carpathicus

1. Úvod / Introduction________________________________________________________________________________________organized by partner organization KORA withsupport of the Council of Europe/Bern Convention.The workshop included the following sections:Human dimension and public involvement; GIShabitat modelling for conservation; Cameratrapping; Health and genetics; Data compilation,treatment, saving and reporting; as well asindividual discussions and excursions.Together with Dr. Urs Breitenmoser and Dr.Marie-Pierre Ryser-Degiorgis on 20 October 2013we took part in a consultation and inspection of thecaptive facility in Juraparc SA Rte de la Vallée deJoux, where lynx will be placed for rehabilitation.This programme was very important especially dueto an analogical approach and construction of arehabilitation station for Carpathian lynx at BojniceZoo. On 22 October B. Tám and R. Rigg participatedin monitoring the health status of a juvenile lynx atFIWI (Centre for Fish and Wildlife Medicine),Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern. Project teammembers J. Kubala, P. Smolko and B. Támexperienced the identification of a lynx kill inSimmental Valley on 24 October with KORApersonnel Andreas Ryser and Elizabeth Hofer aswell as the subsequent presentation andinstallation of a trapping system with the help ofwhich on the following day the resident adultfemale Mila was caught, immobilised and fittedwith a telemetry collar. On 25 October J. Kubalaand B. Tám participated in an autopsy and X-rayexamination of a juvenile lynx at FIWI togetherwith Dr. Ryser-Degiorgis.On 24–25.10.2014 in cooperation with BojniceZoo we organized an international Workshop forveterinarians and other experts. Dr. Ryser-Degiorgis from our partner organization KORA andthe University of Bern was the guarantor of theevent. The workshop programme was divided intotwo blocks. The first block with presentations tookplace in the conference room of Bojnice Town Hall.The second block of the workshop, which consistedof practical training and autopsies of dead lynx withanalysis and assessment of the health problems ofindividual animals, took place in Bojnice Zooveterinary clinic. Four lynx carcasses were selectedfor autopsy and another two were used forcomparison of internal organs.The first demonstration autopsy was performedby Dr. Ryser-Degiorgis on an adult male lynx whichhad been wandering within the boundaries ofhuman habitation with an injured limb. It wasfound by autopsy that the lynx had not suffered theinjury as a result of a collision with a vehicle, as hadoriginally been deduced. The left humerus wasshattered and the lesion contained fragments oflead from a gunshot wound. Workshopparticipants had the chance to try part ofsubsequent autopsies and to take samples. Thewhole exercise was focused on unifying workingprocedures in Slovakia and Switzerland.The results of the project – two years ofmonitoring lynx in Veľká Fatra and Štiavnica Mts. –were presented at the final seminar Monitoringand Status of Eurasian lynx, which took place on11.2.2015 at the Technical University in Zvolen.More than 50 participants were composed ofpartners from Switzerland, colleagues from theCzech Republic, Hungary and Germany, zoologists,foresters, hunters, State Nature Conservancyworkers, national park rangers, professors andstudents. Participants were informed throughexpert presentations about lynx research methodsusing camera traps and capture – recaptureanalysis, which has been successfully used forseveral years in Switzerland and could become thestandard for monitoring lynx in Slovakia. Protocolsfor veterinary procedures required for detailedstudy of health status and genetics wererecommended by Dr. Ryser-Degiorgis of theVetsuisse Faculty. Colleagues from Hnutí Duha inneighbouring Czech Republic presented the statusof the lynx population in the Czech–Slovakiaborderland. Monitoring is also done by colleaguesfrom the Foundation for Large Carnivores inHungary, where they are trying to ensure thesurvival of a few individuals.________________________________________________________________________________________Monitoring Lynx lynx carpathicus, Rigg & Kubala (2015) 14