– We just hear that she is carrying her out. That’s what Jim Mange Hansen, in Kvænangen in Troms, says about the cat Nila (14) who was taken by a lynx earlier in July. – It was our daughter’s cat, and the cat had been in a boarding house with us. She was caught just a few meters from the cat door. According to Hansen, this has been a problem for a long time. – We have regular observations of lynx. But in the last three to five years there have been more and they have been closer to the house walls than we really like. It was Framtid i Nord that first mentioned the case. New cat disappeared a couple of days later Jan Roar Karlsen, in Kvænangen, experienced that his cat Bixit (3) must have been taken by a lynx a week later. – We let the cat out in the morning at six o’clock. After two hours it had been taken by the lynx right outside our stairs. He only found fur remains from the cat and a lynx. – We never found Bixit again, he says. Karlsen together with the cat Bixit. Photo: Jan Roar Karslen Karlsen says that everyday life is characterized by the fact that the lynx is so approachable. He, and his circle of friends, also notice it on their animals when the lynx is nearby. – When the lynx is close enough, the dogs can sense it. Then they refuse to go out. It has been like this every single evening after four o’clock. Jan Roar Karlsen’s cat, Bixit. Photo: Jan Roar Karslen / Jan Roar Karslen/private According to Karlsen, those with small children do not dare to leave them outside in the pram. Dogs on a leash must be guarded and parents are reluctant to send children out to play. – It goes beyond well-being. We are a little reluctant to go out into the terrain when we know the lynx is there. Karlsen is clear that he believes the lynx has the right to life. Still, they are afraid. – I think SNO should take the necessary measures to reduce the stock locally, says Karlsen. There are also constant reports of lynx attacks on sheep in the local area, according to Karlsen. Not unusual for attacks on cats Senior advisor in the wildlife section of the Norwegian Environment Agency, Anders Braa, says that there is no literature or knowledge that lynxes have caused damage to people. – Attacks on cats, however, are not unusual. According to the Norwegian Environment Agency, the population target for lynx in Troms and Finnmark (prey region 8) is 10 annual family groups, calculated as an average over the last three years. As of this year, this average is 8.7 in the region. – It is therefore not relevant to reduce the stock here. There are nevertheless some lynxes annually on the cull, due to damage to reindeer and sheep. – Those who are worried about their cats can keep them inside for a shorter period in the future. That may be enough for the lynx to leave the area and focus on other prey, says Braa in the Norwegian Environment Agency. I think it’s about one lynx Zoologist Petter Bøckman says that the population need not worry about their children, because the lynx is shy of people. – If they are so shy of people, why do they go into the garden and take these cats? – There is probably one lynx in question, and I would guess from the behavior that is being discussed here, that this is a young lynx. Zoologist Petter Bøckman. Photo: Kristian Elster The zoologist says that the young animals are more curious and less anxious than the adult animals. – No two lynxes are the same, just as no two people are the same. Otherwise, it could be that it is a lynx that is curious and a little cocky. Bøckman says that how many lynxes there are will vary from year to year. – Each mother lynx probably has two, three or four cubs. Then most of them die before reaching adulthood. He says that the real population is those who live just before they start having young again next year. – There is no shortage of cats in the world, but there are starting to be quite a few lynxes, says the Zoologist. Published 24/07/2024, at 19.40
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– Was caught just a few meters from the cat’s door – news Troms and Finnmark
