Project Update

Press release from Zurich Wildlife Park, 7 May 2026:

Wild lynx populations in Western and Central Europe are under severe pressure. Some of the individual populations are very small and poorly connected, which threatens to lead to genetic impoverishment. Targeted reintroductions help to link and strengthen these populations.

Coordinated by the international ‘Linking Lynx’ network, 16 lynx born in zoos have been released into the wild in Germany since early 2023. Three of them come from Zurich Wildlife Park: Vreni and her sisters Verena and Freya.

First missing, now a beacon of hope
Vreni was released into the wild in the Thuringian Forest in August 2024. Wildlife cameras and her GPS transmitter showed that she had settled well into her new environment after only a short time. She was also quickly able to hunt roe deer, even though she had never been able to practise this whilst in the zoo.

However, contact with Vreni was lost prematurely due to a technical fault with the transmitter. There was no sign of life from the animal for over a year. It was only through new images from camera traps that Vreni could now be clearly identified by her unique coat markings. One of the images also shows a young lynx following Vreni at close quarters.

Species conservation project “Lynx Thuringia – Connecting Europe’s Lynx”
“We are overjoyed that Vreni is still alive and that she continues to live in the Thuringian Forest. ‘When I spotted the lynx and her cub whilst reviewing the camera trap images, it was one of the highlights of our project for me,’ says Dr Markus Port, lynx expert at BUND Thuringia. He is part of the team behind the species conservation project ‘Lynx Thuringia – Connecting Europe’s Lynxes’.

The cub seen in the image is already almost fully grown and is thought to have been born in spring 2025. “Vreni, who was around two years old at the time, was therefore able to reproduce successfully in the very first year after her release into the wild. That is a major success for our project,” explains Port. Lynxes give birth to two to four cubs once a year. It is not known how large Vreni’s litter was. Often, not all cubs are captured by the wildlife cameras.

Thuringia as a bridge between the Harz and the Bavarian Forest
Vreni’s offspring mark a decisive step towards establishing a stable population in Thuringia and the neighbouring federal states. 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 Mountains and the Bavarian Forest.

There is also great jubilation at the Zurich Wildlife Park. “We are delighted that Vreni has been able to establish herself in the Thuringian Forest,” explains Karin Hindenlang Clerc, Managing Director of the Zurich Wildlife Park Foundation. “ “It fills us with pride and gratitude that we can contribute to the conservation of this wonderful species in Europe.” Zurich Wildlife Park participates in the conservation breeding programme of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and is one of the few zoos in Europe where lynx can be specifically prepared for life in the wild.