Discovery could see lynx in the Highlands again

Scientists had been convinced that the Eurasian lynx became extinct in Britain more than 4,000 years ago when the climate became cool and wet.

But new radiocarbon dating of lynx bones found in caves in North Yorkshire has proved that the carnivores were still prowling the British countryside only 1,500 years ago.

And David Hetherington, the ecologist at Aberdeen University who made the discovery, claimed yesterday that his findings could pave the way for the big cat being reintroduced in Britain.

The lynx, which can stand as tall as 75cm high at the shoulder, prefers forested areas and is a natural predator of deer - which would cut down on the need for deer culling in the Highlands and help protect woodland from overgrazing.

Dr Hetherington, whose findings are published today in the Journal of Quaternary Science, said: "These findings indicate that lynx survived the change in the climate, and were most probably driven to extinction when people cut down the forests and effectively destroyed the lynx's habitat."

He added that the discovery had important implications for the possible reintroduction of the wild cat to Scotland. While zoologists believe that it would be unethical to reintroduce a species that has been made extinct by natural climate change, the European Union's habitats directive obliges member states to consider reintroducing species that were killed off by human action.

"One species on the list of possible candidates is the Eurasian lynx," said Dr Hetherington. "Reintroduction as a conservation tool should only be considered when the causes of extinction were driven by humans and are no longer operating. Much of Scotland, for example, has recently been reafforested and could be suitable for lynx once more."

The lynx has recently been re-established in parts of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. But local farmers have complained about the wild cat preying on their livestock and deer herds.

Paul Lister, the millionaire heir to the MFI DIY chain, wants to reintroduce the lynx, along with other animals extinct in Scotland for centuries such as the grey wolf and brown bear, at his Alladale estate near the Dornoch Firth.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Mr Lister said the new research would be of great interest and agreed the findings could bolster proposals to bring back the lynx to Scotland.

Mark Ruskell, MSP, environment spokesman for the Green Party, added that the Executive had "foolishly" failed to support the comeback of the beaver to Scotland.

He said: "The fact that ministers rejected the beaver pilot means that the focus may shift to more ambitious projects such as the lynx.

"In principle we're in favour of reintroducing species which have died out through hunting, but there needs to be some quite strict conditions placed on these proposals. Every proposal must be looked at on its individual merits."

Dr Hetherington also unearthed literary evidence to back the carbon dating findings - an ancient British poem which indicates that lynx were still present in the Lake District in the 7th century AD.

The poem, Pais Dinogad, was written in Cumbric, a language related to Welsh and once spoken over much of northern England. The poem celebrates a father's hunting prowess and mentions the lynx as one of the animals being hunted.

Dr Hetherington said: "Translation has been problematic, because one of the phrases seems to indicate that one of the animals the father hunted was lynx.

"This interpretation was initially dismissed, because of the assumption that lynx had died out long before the poem was written.

"We now have a radiocarbon date for a similar period of time on bones, found only 80km away from Derwent Water, where the poem was set.

"There is no reason why lynx weren't running around this area at the time the poem was written."

But Dr Hetherington stressed: "This is the first step in a much broader assessment of whether it is feasible to reintroduce the lynx to Britain."

Beavering away in vain

PREVIOUS attempts to reintroduce species to the wild in Scotland included a bid to bring back beavers, but it left taxpayers with a bill of almost 500,000 - and no beavers.

The mammals were wiped out in Scotland in the 16th century after being hunted for their pelts.

A pilot project run by Scottish Natural Heritage and the Forestry Commission worked on their reintroduction for a decade. But the Scottish Executive pulled the plug amid fears that plans to shoot escaped beavers would breach EU laws protecting them.