Translocation Update

Alva is infected with FeLV

On 28 March 2024, the female lynx Alva was released into the wild in the Western Ore Mountains. It later emerged that she was infected with the feline leukemia virus (FeLV). Despite initial plans to investigate her infection status, it was decided to refrain from further measures for the time being, as Alva currently appears to be in resilient health.

© Archiv Naturschutz LfULG, P. Jůnková Vymyslická© Archiv Naturschutz LfULG, P. Jůnková Vymyslická

© Archiv Naturschutz LfULG, P. Jůnková Vymyslická

Press release, Landesamt für Umwelt, Landwirtschaft und Geologie, Saxony, 08.01.2025

On 28 March 2024, Alva was released into the wild in the Westerzgebirge - the second wild catch from the Swiss Jura. It was later discovered that the female lynx was infected with the feline leukaemia virus (FeLV). Like all animals from the RELynx project, Alva is continuously monitored using various methods: By GPS tracking, via photo traps, with crack searches. The data shows: Alva currently appears to be in good health. For this reason, the Saxon State Ministry for Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture (SMEKUL) has decided not to initiate any further measures for the time being after objectively and legally weighing up all options for action as well as the risks to the lynx population currently being established and the project objectives. The initial plan was to capture the cat and determine its exact infection status.

FeLV is a viral infection that is only infectious to feline species. The virus can only be transmitted through direct contact with an infected animal, for example through bites, mutual grooming or during mating. The infection can take a different course: There are abortive, regressive and progressive forms. In an abortive course, the virus has been successfully combated by the immune system. In the case of a regressive course, the lynx is infected for life, but does not excrete the virus and is not infectious to other felines. In a progressive course, the virus actively multiplies in the blood and is continuously excreted. Other cats can become infected through direct contact. This is known as permanent viraemia, which weakens the immune system. In this form of the disease, cats develop a variety of symptoms such as tumours and secondary infections, from which they usually die within a few months to years.

After being caught in Switzerland, Alva successfully passed all the necessary health tests, including three tests for FeLV. One month after the release, our project team received news from the Swiss Fish and Wildlife Institute (FIWI) that a blood test carried out retrospectively for scientific purposes had found Alva to be infected with FeLV. The infection probably occurred shortly before the catch. Based on the data currently available from telemetry, photo traps and crack searches, a contagious (progressive) infection status is currently considered rather unlikely.
The «RELynx Saxony» project is an important species conservation project of the Free State of Saxony and is part of the nationwide strategy to stabilise the German lynx population. Alva is a sexually mature, experienced mother who can make a decisive contribution to reproduction and thus the establishment of a stepping stone population in Saxony. Offspring are particularly important in the initial phase of a reintroduction project - on the one hand to stabilise the population and on the other to increase genetic diversity.

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