Project Update

Press release from the Thuringian State Government, 7 May 2026:

There is great joy within the species conservation project “Lynx Thuringia – Connecting Europe’s Lynx”: Vreni, the female lynx released into the wild in August 2024, who had long been missing without a trace, has reappeared – together with at least one cub.

Following her release into the Thuringian Forest in August 2024, contact with Vreni was lost prematurely due to a technical fault with the GPS transmitter. For over a year, there was no sign of life from the animal. It was only through new images from camera traps, taken in February and March of this year, that Vreni could now be clearly identified by her unique coat markings. One of the images also shows a young lynx following closely behind Vreni.

“We are overjoyed that Vreni is still alive and that she remains in the Thuringian Forest. When I spotted the lynx and her cub whilst reviewing the camera trap images, it was one of the finest moments of our project,” says Dr Markus Port, lynx expert at BUND Thuringia.

“After the collar transmitter failed, a long period of uncertainty began for us in the project team,” adds Dr Max Boxleitner from the WWF. “Nevertheless, we hoped to receive a sign of life from Vreni again. You never give up hope entirely.”

The cub visible in the second image is already almost fully grown and is likely to have been born in spring 2025. “So Vreni, who is around two years old, has already successfully reproduced in the first year after her release into the wild. That is a great success for our project,” explains Port. Lynxes usually give birth to 2–4 cubs once a year, typically in May or June.

The project team had picked up Vreni’s trail thanks to footage from a private wildlife camera, and subsequently began setting up their own cameras in the area in November 2025. A big thank you goes to the hunting leaseholders and forest owners in the region, whose support made a decisive contribution to the search for Vreni.

Active support also came from the relevant ThüringenForst district managers. “Our staff are out in the field every day and support the project to the best of their ability by recording and passing on observations and tips. For ThüringenForst-AöR, supporting the lynx population represents an enrichment of our forest ecosystem. We are therefore committed, together with our partners, to continuing to provide it with a permanent home in the Thuringian Forest,” says Jörn Ripken, ThüringenForst board member.

It is not currently known whether the second cub photographed in October 2025 is still alive. Not all cubs are always captured by a camera trap. However, cub mortality is high among lynx.

Vreni comes from the Zurich Wildlife Park, where she was born in spring 2023. Following the completion of the reintroduction project in the Harz National Park in the early 2000s, Vreni is the first lynx born in human care to have given birth to cubs in the wild in Germany. This is a major success for species conservation!

Vreni’s offspring mark a decisive step towards building a stable population. The aim of the project is to establish a permanent lynx population in the Thuringian Forest, thereby creating an important link between the existing populations in the Harz and the Bavarian Forest.