A new study has mapped the lynx population in Europe, revealing there are an estimated 9,400 animals in 11 central European countries, including France.
The map, compiled by Swiss foundation KORA as part of its SCALP+ 2021/2022 monitoring report, shows in France the Eurasian lynx is found mainly in the Jura mountains, with smaller populations in other eastern areas such as the Alps.
“The lynx is slowly regaining territory (in Europe), mainly due to past and present conservation efforts. These efforts need to continue in order to establish a Central European lynx metapopulation,” said Anja Molinari-Jobin, who coordinated the SCALP+ report.
The map reveals the first lynx reproduction reported in the northern Vosges mountains since the species disappeared. Two kittens were born from Lycka, which was released across the border in Germany’s Palatinate Forest in 2020.
The Eurasian lynx, also known as the boreal lynx, vanished from France in the 18th century, and returned via a reintroduction project in Switzerland in the 1970s.
The Jura mountains are home to the vast majority of France’s lynx population, around 85%, according to Gilles Moyne from the Centre Athénas, a wildlife protection centre in the region.
Eurasian lynxmuhammadadeel007/Shutterstock
He said 10 lynx have been identified in the Vosges, while the Northern Alps population is estimated at around 15 adults.
The total lynx population in France is estimated at 150 adults in the area of “permanent presence”, plus a few individuals on the margins of the western and southern fringes of the area.
And France’s small lynx population faces numerous threats to its survival.
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A study by the OFB and the National Museum of Natural History in December 2024 as part of France’s National Action Plan for Lynx warned the survival of the species in France was “fragile.”
Threats to the species' survival
It faces two major causes of excess mortality, according to Mr Moyne. Road collisions kill 10-12 adults each year, while poaching leaves five to six lynx orphaned each year due to presumed destruction of the mother – two such cases were proven in 2024.
“The difficulty with poaching lies in the fact that it is more difficult to establish than road collisions,” said Mr Moyne.
Another major factor threatening the lynx in France is the loss of genetic diversity.
“This is the result both of the low number of founders of this population (15 individuals in 1971) and of the isolation of this population (no exchanges with other population nuclei in Europe).”
The Eurasian lynx is a protected species both in France and Europe. Organisations such as the Centre Athénas are working to protect the animal.
One key way to help protect the lynx, it says, is to slow down on roads, “particularly in wooded areas and the most accident-prone sectors, and putting up dedicated signs to encourage vigilance.”
It provides free signs to local authorities to place on roads in areas that are particularly dangerous for the animal.
Another key protection measure is to combat poaching.
The centre wants to encourage people to report poaching, as well as to “train investigators, and raise awareness among magistrates to ensure sentences are more severe and act as a deterrent,” said Mr Moyne.
It is also vital to “restore and conserve forest continuity to encourage exchanges between populations,” which would help tackle the issue of the lack of genetic diversity, as would “strengthening the genetics of the population by releasing individuals from other population nuclei.”
