British Lynx: Survived Into Early Mediæval Period

[Pietro_Mercurios]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4324378.stm

Cave discovery dispels lynx myth
10 October 2005

Bones found in a cave in North Yorkshire 100 years ago have dispelled myths about the extinction of one of Britain's hunting cats.

Four bones of a lynx were discovered in Moughton Fell Fissure Cave, near Settle, in the early 19th Century.

Experts had believed the lynx became extinct in the UK 4,000 years ago but new carbon dating suggests they were still around in early medieval times.

The findings have been described as of "national significance" by researchers.

Funded by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, carbon dating revealed the bones were only 1,500 years old and indicates that the lynx was hunted to extinction or lost their territory when farming intensified.

It had previously been thought they became extinct when the climate cooled and became wetter.

Conservation Archaeologist Robert White said: "The findings do surprise us in that the lynx became extinct 2,500 years later than we thought.

"The findings also highlight the importance of keeping archaeological collections safe for future research using more advanced technology."

Langcliffe farmer Tom Lord has been helping experts with research in the area.

He said: "It is of national significance.

"Craven has the greatest number of lynx records of any of the limestone cave areas of Britain - nine of the 25 British cave sites that have yielded lynx bones are in the area.

"What this means is that you can be fairly certain the lynx became extinct in the medieval period due to humans - considerably later than was previously thought."

 

[ramonmercado]

Will big cats bounce back?

Will big cats bounce back?
Lynx study fuels debate over conservation strategy for top predators
Michael Hopkin


Conservationists are calling for the reintroduction of lynx to northern Britain, after discovering that humans were responsible for their demise in medieval times. Their evidence has sparked a debate over whether humans have a duty to return large predators to areas where they used to live if we are implicated in their previous downfall.

The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) was thought to have disappeared from the British Isles several thousand years ago, when natural climate shifts turned most of its forest habitat into boggy peatlands. But carbon dating of bones found in caves in Yorkshire, in northern England, suggests that the species was still here 1,500 years ago... and that humans therefore wiped it out.

This puts a different spin on their conservation status, argue David Hetherington of the University of Aberdeen and his colleagues, who publish their discovery in the Journal of Quaternary Science1. The European Union habitats directive calls for member countries to consider reintroducing species that have been exterminated by humans, as long as conditions are right for them to return.

When you decide to do a reintroduction, you need very good preparation, a lot of money, and a lot of time.

Gerald Dick
World Wildlife Fund



That is the case in northern Britain, particularly Scotland, says Hetherington. "Lynx could be a real ally to foresters," he points out. "They prey on pests such as foxes, and could be a real cash cow for the wildlife tourism industry."

Weak lynx

Hetherington and his team believe that the lynx, which is widespread in Siberia but dwindling in Europe, was pushed out of Britain in early medieval times as humans cut down the remaining forests. This hit numbers of roe deer, the lynx's favoured prey, and also left them nowhere to live and hunt.

"The lynx is an ambush hunter, it needs cover," he points out.

Wide-scale forestry in Scotland, combined with improved attitudes to species conservation, might have set the stage for a return, Hetherington hopes. The 20-kilogram cats are shy and secretive, and would not pose a threat to humans or livestock, he says.

The past 35 years has seen several efforts to boost lynx numbers in Europe, and other species have been successfully reintroduced on the continent. More than ten years ago, a small group of brown bears (Ursus arctos) was introduced to the Austrian Alps. They are making encouraging progress. And birds such as the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) and red kite (Milvus milvus) have also been successfully restored to their former habitats.

Hairy subject

But there may be more pressing problems in conservation, says Gerald Dick, who works for the WWF, formerly the World Wildlife Fund, in Vienna. He argues that monitoring endangered populations should take priority.

A Europe-wide wildlife-monitoring network, planned for 2007, should help with this, he adds. One species in the spotlight will be the Eurasian lynx's sister species, the Iberian lynx, which is perilously close to dying out (see 'Look sharp to save lynx').

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Any reintroductions need to be carefully thought through, Dick warns. "When you decide to do it, you need very good preparation. You have to make sure it makes sense scientifically to go ahead, and you need a lot of money, and a lot of time."

Still, a well judged reintroduction can give species a hand in reclaiming their former territory, says Andrew McMullin, a spokesman for the IUCN, a global conservation organization that has published a set of guidelines for such projects.

"You can get animals established in places it would take them hundreds of years to get back to otherwise," says McMullin.

References
Hetherington D. A., Lord T. C. & Jacobi R. M. J. Quat Sci. , doi:10.1002/jqs.960 (2005).

http://www.nature.com/news/2005/051003/ ... 03-14.html

 

[Anonymous]

The British Lynx

It is very pleasing to see the publication of this data, and it will hopefully lead to funding becoming available for the Carbon dating of further lynx cave remains.

Having just read the paper at speed I would also respectfully draw the readers attention to some further facts
1. the ancient poem Pa Gur (about the character who is probably Sir Kay in Arthurian legend) also refers to lions (which in this context is almost certainly lynx) in Anglesey.

2. The sighting in the 1700s of a possible Lynx by Cobbett (although I concede that this was almost certainly a menagerie escape animal)

3. The possible illegal re-introduction of Lynx into Scotland a few years ago.

All the above were referred to in my recent article in the current edition of Animals and Men, which is available on line (in a slightly abridged form) at www. scottishbigcats.co.uk/britishlynxcm.htm


Perhaps the great days of zoology are not done!

Chris Moiser

 

[evilsprout]

There's also the Barnburgh wild cat or "wood cat" killed by Percival Cresacre in Barnburgh near Doncaster in 1475.

 

[barndad]

very interesting article. Cant remember if its quoted in the paper or somewhere else but its also a possible source for Raphael Holinshed famous passage in "A history of England, Scotland and Ireland" where he talks about lions in the north of scotland.
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