IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Versteege, L. | |
| Studbook management of captive Eurasian lynx (_Lynx lynx_) | |
| 2009 Book Chapter | |
The Eurasian lynx studbook (ESB) was established in 2002 after recommendations from the EAZA Felid TAG (Taxon Advisory Group). The reasons to establish this studbook were manifold. Almost 50% of the lynxes in captivity were of unknown origin, many reintroductions had been taking place, many lynxes were bred and many different studies were being conducted with the captive specimens. In an attempt to address these problems in an organized manner, all zoos were asked to send their historical registration on lynxes, and this data was compared with the information received from ISIS (International Species Information System). Through careful investigation of the studbook many discrepancies and problems were identified. Specifically, it was found out that the level of inbreeding in the captive population was very high. Secondly, the number of lynxes of unknown origin was also high. In addition, there were a large number of identified lynxes of mixed genetic origin. Finally, many lynxes were kept in suboptimal captive conditions. Recommendations were sent out to zoos urging cooperation to avoid further inbreeding of the population, to improve enclosure design and husbandry procedures for this species and to convince involved institutions to participate in the genetic studies aimed at determination of the various subspecies. The subspecies problem is an important one for the programme, since it is very difficult to manage the captive population if it is unclear how many subpopulations it consists of. Furthermore, as there are still zoos involved in reintroduction projects, it is imperative to find out the origin of lynxes that are targeted for reintroduction. A Swiss research group is currently involved in genetic sampling of lynxes and has already set up a databank for some subspecies. Zoos keeping lynxes are encouraged to cooperate as much as possible by providing samples of known subspecies. In this way, the ESB serves as a catalyst for the EAZA institutions that provide genetic samples from their lynxes. |
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