Translocation

Press release from the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology, 17 August 2026:

Today, 17 August 2026, two further lynx were released into the wild in the Eibenstock/Westerzgebirge forest district as part of the «RELynx Sachsen» project. This was announced by the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology in Dresden.

Lotta, a female lynx aged around one year, is a captive-bred lynx from the Oberrabenstein wildlife enclosure at Chemnitz Zoo. The breeding pair has successfully produced offspring for the fourth time this year, thereby making a contribution to the conservation of this species that is just as valuable as that of the «Domaine Des Grotte-de-Han» wildlife park in Belgium, from which the male lynx Luca, who is the same age, originates. To put this into context: Luca is a sibling of the lynx Anton, who was released into the wild in late summer 2024 and was sadly run over just a few months later.

Both animals moved to the coordination enclosure in the Hütscheroda Wildcat Village in the spring. There, they were prepared for their release into the wild, largely away from human contact. Both Lotta and Luca passed all the necessary behavioural and health tests. As the two transport crates, lined with straw, were carefully opened, the lynxes leapt out within a few minutes of each other into their new, densely wooded habitat in the Eibenstock Forest.

With every additional lynx released into the wild, the local population grows. At the same time, the newly released animals bring new genes with them. In doing so, they make an important contribution to enriching the gene pool of Saxony’s lynx population and making it more resilient in the long term. The aim is to establish a so-called stepping-stone population in the Ore Mountains to improve the connectivity of lynx populations in the long term.

There is yet another reason to celebrate. Alva, the female lynx released into the wild in spring 2024, has had her second litter. Two cubs were confirmed in July with the help of wildlife cameras. The footage shows the young lynxes playing and exploring their surroundings. Last year’s litter are now largely independent and remain within the project area. This repeat breeding is a significant success for the lynx in Saxony and also a sign that the female lynx feels at home here.

The combination of natural offspring and targeted reintroductions creates favourable conditions for the lynx to become further established in the Ore Mountains.

Technical background:
With Lotta and Luca, a total of nine animals have now been released into the wild in the Eibenstock forest district as part of the «RELynx Saxony» project since 2024. In 2024, five animals were released, including the two wild-caught lynx, Alva and Nova, from the Swiss Jura Mountains, as well as the three males from animal enclosures: Anton, Chapo and Juno. Anton is no longer alive. He was hit by a car and fatally injured. In 2025, two further lynx from captive breeding programmes – Charlie and Freya – were released into the wild.

The animals earmarked for release come from the European Conservation Breeding Programme for the Carpathian lynx. The distribution of suitable offspring is managed by the Linking Lynx expert network. The aim of Linking Lynx is to connect populations and establish a viable lynx metapopulation. This is intended to stretch from the Carpathians across the German low mountain ranges to the Jura and the Western Alps.