Translocation
Lynx Janus released into the wild
Janus, a young lynx, was brought to Austria during a night trip and released into the Kalkalpen National Park in the early hours of 31 January.

© Max Boxleitner/WWF
Kalkalpen National Park, Austria, 31 January 2025:
For several years, the lynx population support project in the Kalkalpen National Park has been hanging by a thread. The low genetic diversity of the current small lynx population is already leaving its mark. The closely related lynxes are not producing offspring.
For this reason, the young lynx male Janus was released into the wild in the Kalkalpen National Park in the early hours of this morning. He is a lynx with Carpathian DNA and is expected to produce offspring in the coming years.
Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler: «Lynx Janus is setting out on his journey to freedom – a young lynx from the Carpathian region that will contribute to the much-needed genetic diversity in the Kalkalpen National Park. In a sensitive ecosystem where every species plays an important role, he will help to maintain the natural balance.»
Janus the lynx is a purebred Carpathian lynx, was born on 22 May 2023 and grew up in a natural enclosure in the Wildkatzendorf Hütscheroda in the municipality of Hörselberg-Hainich in Thuringia. He spent the last few months in a protected reintroduction enclosure. There he was prepared for a life in the wild without human contact. After passing the last behavioural tests with flying colours, Janus was placed in the Kalkalpen National Park by the international Linking Lynx Sourcing Working Group. Linking Lynx is a network of experts dedicated to the conservation, monitoring and management of the Carpathian lynx. The European breeding programme for the lynx is managed by the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria).
After extensive testing and a clean bill of health, Janus the lynx cub was brought to Austria in a night trip. He was accompanied by Dr Katrin Vogel from the Wildkatzendorf Hütscheroda, veterinarian Dr Szilvia Kalogeropoulu from the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, as well as DI Christian Fuxjäger and Josef Schürhagel from the Kalkalpen National Park.
Deputy Governor Dr Manfred Haimbuchner: «With the replacement of Norik, a further step has been taken in the three-stage plan to ensure a sustainable population of lynx in southern Upper Austria.»
Dr Katrin Vogel (managing director of the BUND Wildcat Village in Hütscheroda): «I am very pleased that Janus is now strengthening the lynx population in the Limestone Alps and hopefully helping to further connect Europe's lynx population. He is now the seventh animal to be released into the wild from our breeding programme in Germany, Austria and Italy».
National Park Director Forstinger extends special thanks to the LUKA working group, which has been meeting since 2008 and brings together all interested parties around one table. Its work has been an important contribution to making this population support possible.