IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Stahl, P.; Vandel, J.-M. | |
| Mortalit‚ et captures de lynx _Lynx lynx_ en France (1974-1998) | |
| 1999 Mammalia (63): 49-59 | |
The recovery of dead animals and incidental captures of live animals are reliable proofs of presence which may be collected on a large scale and at low cost when studying the distribution of rare and secretive species of large carnivores. We used the number of data collected per five-year period to study the long term population trend of re-introduced lynx populations in France. Causes of death and sex-ratio of the juveniles and adults-subadults found dead in the wild were also examined. From 1974 to 1998, 52 lynx were found dead or were wounded in France and 5 lynx were caught incidentally. In the Jura mountains, the number of data collected by five-year period increased regularly, from one in 1974-1978 to 20 in 1994-1998. This trend confirmed the settlement of the lynx in the Jura mountains concurrently with the geographical expansion of the species. In the Alps, a maximum of two data were collected per period. The last data was collected in 1990, which suggests that there is no well-established population. In the Vosges mountains, two to four data were collected per five-year period since the first re-introductions of lynx in 1983. This may well reflect the onset of colonization. In the Pyr‚n‚es, the absence of data for decades is linked with the extinction of the species. Causes of death were undetermined in six cases. Mortality was man-related, either directly or indirectly, in 83% of the cases (n=38). Mortality causes were road or train traffic (n= 26), illegal killing (n=10) or secondary poisoning by anticoagulants (n=2). Natural mortality factors were at the origin of 17% of the cases (n=8). The juvenile to adult-subadult ratio varied with the causes of death and captures. Juveniles were more frequent (75%) than adults-subadults in the cases of natural mortality. Adults-subadults were more frequent (60.5%) in cases of man-related mortality. The sex-ratio did not vary with the causes of death and captures and did not differ from 1:1 despite a trend in an over-representation of females (28:20). |
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