By Denitsa Raykova | Donor Relations and Care Specialist
Seeing a lynx in the wild is a rare occurrence, as they are quite secretive animals and are active mostly at night. However, one of WWF Bulgaria’s best experts was lucky enough to meet the species.
Alexander Dutsov is among the leading specialists on large carnivores in Bulgaria. He is an ecologist with 20 years of experience in nature and biodiversity conservation and has in-depth knowledge of wildlife habitats, ecosystems and mammal monitoring.
‘Lynxes have always aroused curiosity among zoologists, and I am no exception. Even as a schoolboy, I hoped that I would have the opportunity to find a lynx hidden in the wildest and most inaccessible places in Bulgaria’, says Alexander.
Trace in Western Bulgaria
Years ago, Dutsov participated in studies of wolves in the western part of Bulgaria. At that time, Dutch students from relevant majors often came to the country for internships.
"On a snowy day in October 2003, a Dutch student and I went looking for wolf tracks west of the town of Tran. There were many familiar tracks along the trail, and I was explaining the specifics to the student. At one point, a track in the snow appeared in front of our view, which my brain automatically dismissed as something unfamiliar. But my companion was curious and directed me to it. I examined it carefully, and my mind scrolled through everything I'd read to find a match. And then I realized it - a huge cat track, absolutely round with no claws printed, but just over 7 cm," Dutsov remembers.
The zoologist had heard about the newly formed lynx population in eastern Serbia and was discussing with colleagues the possibility of animals from it crossing the border. Unfortunately, that day in 2003 the trail was lost after about 350 meters on a molten hillside, and that ended the hope of learning more.
Contact with wild lynx
Alexander managed to see a wild lynx when he visited the Carpathian Large Carnivore Project and joined the work of its experts. His goal at that time was to get trained in conventional telemetry.
‘I then had the opportunity to participate in tracking a collared female lynx to the den, where a small 4-week-old lynx became the object of our scientific interest and our admiration for the courage it showed towards the huge bipeds that had surrounded it. The mother was announcing her presence and resentment nearby, but we didn't see her’, says Alexander.
‘I hope the animals coming from the west will soon be able to find the necessary peace and settle permanently in our country,’ the specialist adds.
The WWF team is actively working on restoring habitats that provide a safe home and plentiful food for the lynx. We are also committed to creating new protected areas in Bulgaria and improving the connectivity between existing ones.
Those are quiet ambition goals. But our supporters give us confidence that we will be able to achieve them.
You don't have to be an expert in forestry science or know how to rescue wild animals to become their most dedicated protector. You can protect them even if you are far away from them - our donors do so.
We are deeply grateful to each and every one of them!
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
