Lynx, formerly exterminated in Germany, France and Switzerland, have been brought back to these countries. There's now a campaign to reintroduce them in Scotland! First Minister John Swinney has said it won't happen, but the Greens are trying to bring it to a vote.
There's a partnership between The Lifescape Project, Northumberland Wildlife Trust and The Wildlife Trusts that aims to reintroduce lynx to Northumberland and the bordering areas of Cumbria and southern Scotland. It's called The Missing Lynx Project — cute name! Research shows that a population of lynx could thrive in this region, and 72% of respondents in the project area favor the reintroduction of lynx.
Here's the project web page:
and here's the Wikipedia article:My wife and I regularly see lynx in our back yard in Southern California, and they're harmless, shy and cute. But those are Lynx rufus, or bobcats — smaller than the Eurasian lynx I'm talking about here, called Lynx lynx.
Please click on the above Lynx lynx links and learn more about the pros and cons of this aspect of rewilding!