Theriologia Ukrainica (Jun 2021)
The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in the Ukrainian Polissia: state of population and conservation issues
Abstract
The issue of survey, monitoring, and protection of the lynx in the Ukrainian Polissia based on the results of research carried out in 2013–2021 is considered. European census methods do not include the identification of traces of territorial individuals and of those that disperse. Lynx family groups living along the border or at the border of land users should be accounted for 50 % of the established number, so that there is no double counting. The use of photo traps to identify lynx individuals in the wild and then to establish the total lynx population is less effective and more costly than traditional trace-based techniques. Even in the absence of snow, repeated surveys on trails (five visits to the territory with intervals of at least a week), it is possible to establish the presence of almost all individuals of the lynx in the selected area. The reasons for the decline in the number of species in 2015–2017 from 80–100 to 40 individuals and the prospects for effective management of the Polissia population in the future are considered. The number of lynx in 2015–2017 in the Ukrainian Polissia decreased significantly and was at a minimum level for a short time. Since 2018, there has been a gradual increase in the number, especially rapid in the period 2019–2021. The decline in the number of the species in 2015–2017 indicates the need to create a national lynx action plan in Ukraine. The presence of a strong Baltic lynx population north of the Ukrainian Polissia, specifics of territorial distribution of forests, river network, forestless territories, including the Ovruch-Slovenian ridge, create clear eco-corridors in the Ukrainian Polissia for such forest-dwelling species as the lynx. As of 2021, fluctuations in predator-prey systems (wolf, lynx vs deer, wild boar, beaver) have apparently stopped and a new dynamic equilibrium has been established between these species. The lynx has recently proved that it is able to survive even in an anthropogenically altered landscape with a relatively high level of economic activity, which allows the well-being of the population of this species to be predicted in Ukraine.
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