Released lynx attacks goats in the Western Ore Mountains

Lynx Anton was released into the wild at the end of August. The State Environmental Agency has called on animal owners in the area around Eibenstock and Schönheide not to leave livestock unprotected near the forest so as not to train the lynx. In addition, tying up animals should be avoided anyway for animal welfare reasons, the agency stressed.

For better protection against lynx and wolf attacks, the specialist office recommends electric fences that are at least 105 centimeters high. It also offers free advice on better protective measures. Possible attacks should be reported within 24 hours so that an animal attack expert can examine the incident.

The lynx born in captivity have little experience with hunting and catching live animals. Lynx usually prey on deer. “It is quite possible that Anton initially mistook the goat in the meadow for a deer,” the State Environmental Agency speculates. The other two lynxes released into the wild also had their first hunting successes in meadows or on the edges of forests and meadows. “Lynxes generally rarely prey on farm animals.”

A total of five lynxes have been released into the wild in the Western Ore Mountains since March 2024: in addition to Anton, the two males Juno and Chapo, who also grew up in an enclosure, and the female lynxes Nova and Alva. The ladies were caught in the Swiss Jura and released in Saxony. The animals wear GPS collars for a year to make them easier to locate. Lynxes were eradicated in this country 300 years ago.

Regarding the reintroduction of the lynx, the head of department at the State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology, Ulrich Zöphel, said: “It has a clear effect on medium-sized predators such as foxes, raccoons and raccoon dogs. And they are being decimated by the lynx. That is an effect that we have not had for decades.”