Situation and distribution of the Lynx (Lynx lynx L.) in Slovenia from 1995-1999

<strong>Abstract</strong> In this paper we analyse signs of lynx presence and their distribution to evaluate the status of lynx in Slovenia. From 1995-1999, a total of 499 signs of lynx presence were reported that allowed us to distinguish between 4 different regions: (1) The southern part of the country comprising the area south-east of the Ljubljana-Trst highway (Kocevska, Notranjska) where lynx were re-introduced and the lynx number is still the highest. (2) The western part of the country with the Julian Alps, where lynx have started to immigrate in the mid 1980s. (3) The Karavanke and Kamniško-Savinjske Alps in the north of the country, as well as some other isolated areas where only a very low number of lynx signs of presence were collected. (4) The fourth region comprises the north-east of Slovenia where lynx is still absent. Based on the available data, we estimated the number of lynx in southern Slovenia between 30 to 40 individuals, while in the west of the Jesenice-Ljubljana-Trst highway we estimated that around 10 individuals are present. The area of lynx occurrence has not increased during the past five years, on the contrary, the fact that the annual hunting quota has not been reached since 1992 - even though the quotas were set considerably lower than previously - indicates that the number of lynx has decreased. The Slovenian lynx population was always considered the most vital Alpine occurrence, as it has shown rapid expansion into neighbouring Croatia, Italy and Austria. However, during the past years a slight regression in lynx numbers was observed, in contrast to the brown bear and wolf.