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The
article in “Aktuel” magazine is the most complete and informative of all those
published. It contains large amounts of information about the project in
general as well as lynx biology, status, threats and monitoring methods. Messages
tailored to diverse audiences were included alongside the article, directed
towards the general public as well as poachers, hunters and naturalists:
How to save the Balkan lynx?
Balkan lynx, one of the most
authentic wild animals on these territories, is on the edge of extinction
according to human merit. But human can also save the lynx - young enthusiastic
ecologists are trying to save the Balkan lynx by using modern methods and
program which should last several years.
Thirty to forty individuals of the
specimen Lynx lynx martinoi, known as
Balkan lynx, are threatened by extinction. According to experts, the population
number of this large carnivore is at least three times smaller than the optimal
number in nature.
According to the young ecologists
from MES, this situation is a result of continuous hunting on lynx and its
prey, wood cutting and degradation of the habitats.
Dime
Melovski, Aleksandar Stojanov and Gjorge Ivanov started a conservation project for
the wild symbol of nation - the lynx. "To
conserve the lynx, we should firstly try to get a lot of information on its
distribution, biology, prey etc. So, the first step of this project is
conduction of questionnaires in areas where lynx presence should be expected.
Target group are the hunters, game wardens, foresters, shepherd, i.e. all
persons that have or had possibilities to see lynx.
The next step of the ecologists will
be snow tracking and taking a photos of lynx. For this purpose, they will use
modern methods, like camera trapping. Ecologists learned these methods on their
last year training in Switzerland.
The final goal of this project,
started by MES in cooperation with KORA - Switzerland, EURONATUR - Germany and
founded by NINA - Norwegian organization and MAVA - Switzerland, is to define
the distribution area and population number and trend of lynx in Macedonia and public
awareness campaign in the territory of Macedonia. All these will lead to
establishment of a monitoring network that consists of different profiles of
people from GO's and NGO's who will be working on the field. Also there is a
need of establishment of a lynx centre in which all gathered data will be
collected and analyzed.
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