Annual Report 2018 EuroNatur Foundation

Europe’s large mammals
Photo: Dusan Smetana - Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx)
Large mammal protection in Europe
In recent years wolves, brown bears and
lynx have made something of a comeback
in Europe. Together with our partners we
are working to protect the “Big Three”
and their habitats. Our declared aim is to
make possible the peaceful coexistence of
wild animals and people. In the marine
sphere we are focusing on preventing the
extinction of Mediterranean monk seals.
Lynx
There would no longer be any lynx in Central Europe but
for international cooperation. Since 1970, resettlement
programmes have re-established the Eurasian lynx in,
inter alia, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria,
Slovenia, France and Italy. Many of these populations
are small and isolated since lynx depend for their survival
on unfragmented landscapes and sufficient prey, both
of which have become rare in Europe. Illegal hunting is
also a massive problem for this species. The Balkan lynx,
a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx, is critically endangered.
At present, proven occurrences are limited to the Balkan
Green Belt in the border region of North Macedonia and
Albania and in a smaller region in northern Albania and
western Kosovo. The survival of the Balkan lynx and the
protection of its last remaining habitats continued to keep
us busy in 2018. For further information please refer to
pages 16 to 17.
Wolf
A wolf who is established in his pack does not venture
far. But when a young wolf leaves his family ties behind
in order to establish his own pack he might cross several
national borders. This means that in order to successfully
protect wolves we must “think big”. Thanks to the decades
of protection efforts wolves have begun to re-establish in
many regions of Europe, a particularly impressive example
being the wolves’ recolonization of Germany from Poland
since the turn of the millennium. With their support for
wolf protection projects in Poland, EuroNatur’s donors
have significantly contributed to this conservation success
story. A particular focus of our activities in 2018 was on
the tri-border area of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
For further information please refer to pages 18 to 19.
Annual Report 2018
Photo: Thomas Bonometti / Unsplash - Wolves (Canis lupus)
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