Public issued warning as big cats spotted in Scottish highlands

Two more lynx have been spotted in the Highlands and police said they believe the sighting is connected to the release of two lynx seen in the same area, which were safely captured on Thursday.

Police received reports the animals had been seen in the Dell of Killiehuntly, near the town of Kingussie, at about 7.10am today and people in the areahave been warned not to approach the animals.

Police said they are working with specially trained personnel to capture them and Royal Zoological Society of Scotland chief executive David Field said humane traps are being set in the area to catch the animals.

“Two more lynx have been sighted in the same Cairngorms location where we successfully captured a pair yesterday,” he said.

“Further traps are being baited in the area and the hope is that these animals will be safely and humanely captured before being taken to Edinburgh Zoo to join the two captured yesterday in quarantine.

“Police Scotland and Cairngorm National Park Authority rangers are also in attendance. The public are being asked to steer clear of the area as a build-up of people could disturb the animals and hamper efforts on the ground.

“RZSS condemns the illegal release of wild animals in the strongest possible terms and urges anyone with information on the release of these lynx to contact Police Scotland.”

Police said inquiries are continuing to establish the full circumstances of the sighting.

They are appealing to anyone who saw anything in the area, or who has any information, to call 101, quoting incident number 0387 of Friday January 10.

The “illegal release” of the animals into the wild has been condemned by wildlife groups, who said it is very unlikely the animals can survive.

Speaking after the capture of the two lynx on Thursday, Mr Field said: “It was a highly irresponsible act and it is very unlikely they would have survived in the wild due to a lack of adequate preparation.

“Their abandonment was reckless to the animals, public, the community and nature.”

Lynx to Scotland, a project working to return the species to the Highlands, also condemned the illegal release.

Peter Cairns, executive director of SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, one of the three charities involved in the project, said it was “excellent news” the first two lynx had been captured quickly and are safe.

He added: “The Lynx to Scotland project is working to secure the return of Lynx to the Scottish Highlands, but irresponsible and illegal releases such as this are simply counter-productive.”

The lynx captured on Thursday were taken by RZSS to quarantine facilities at the Highland Wildlife Park in the Cairngorms, with the animals due to be transferred to Edinburgh Zoo, where their health and welfare will be assessed.

David Barclay, manager of the RZSS Saving Wildcats team, said that long term the creatures may be rehomed in Highland Wildlife Park, which is already home to two northern lynx named Switch and Neon.

Lynx were once native to Britain, but were driven to extinction 500 to 1,000 years ago due to habitat loss and hunting, as well their prey becoming more rare. The big cats live up to 17 years in the wild, but they can live for more than 20 years in captivity.