The Balkan lynx is present in the territory of Montenegro, claim the Directorate for Forestry and Hunting of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Hunting Association, while the non-governmental sector states that the situation is different.
This is stated in the text of Jelena Vukašinović from the Center for the Protection of Bird Studies (CZIP), which was done as part of the American project "Ethical and professional reporting for students", which is implemented by the non-governmental organization Civic Alliance (GA).
From the non-governmental organization (NGO) Wildlife Montenegro, they said that the presence of the Balkan lynx in Montenegro is recorded only in the border areas and that very rarely, which they say is not to be praised.
"As we are talking about an animal that needs a large area, where we mean an individual and its territory, we cannot look at it from a national point of view as a small country, because we are only a small part of the overall population, which is already calculated to be small." they said from Wildlife Montenegro.
They pointed out that the Balkan lynx is defined as a critically endangered species, which means that it is a species whose population has been reduced to only about 50 adults.
"When it comes to endangerment factors, they are clearly defined for the Balkan lynx: naturally small population size, limited availability of prey and habitat degradation and poaching," said this NGO.
The text states that from November 2014 to June 2018, in the areas of the National Park "Prokletije" as well as in the border areas between Montenegro and Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania, the CZIP conducted four independent monitoring seasons of the Balkan lynx using photo traps .
As they explained, during each season, the position of the photo traps was changed in coordination with colleagues from Kosovo and Albania.
"Unfortunately, during the entire monitoring period, the presence of the Balkan lynx was not confirmed in Montenegro," CZIP pointed out.
The Directorate for Forestry and Hunting denies that the Balkan lynx has been exterminated in our country and says that their habitats are located in Prokletije and Hajla.
They said that recently conducted research with international partners (EuroNatur, Norwegian Nature Research Institute, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Species Conservation Commission (SSC) of large carnivores) talk about the findings of this species on Prokletije and Hajla.
"Which speaks in favor of the fact that we suppressed all destructive activities towards wild fauna by systemic measures, and above all by passing the Law on Weapons," said the Directorate.
Aleksandar Perović, a graduate biologist and mammalogist from CZIP, who led that research in the territory of Montenegro, said that there is no statement that the presence of lynx has been proven on the territory of Hajla, both on the Montenegrin and Kosovo sides.
Perović said that this news was sensationally published in the media and that it was never supported by evidence.
"For the sake of truth, on the territory of Kosovo, through photo-traps, the presence of one individual of the Balkan lynx on the Šar mountain, a mother with young near Dečan and one individual in the area of Boge, which gravitates towards Montenegro, has been proven," stated Perović.
He added that there is a possibility that a small part of the territory held by this individual is also in Montenegro, but this has not been officially confirmed.
And in the Hunting Association of Montenegro, based on the available data, they note the presence of lynx.
On the occasion of that statement, the NGO WildLife asked why the institutions are not doing anything to increase their number.
"If the conclusion is that the abundance is small, why do the institutions not take any steps to create the conditions for the increase in the abundance of this species, i.e. to provide the basic ecological conditions in which this animal would reproduce (peace, habitat and sufficient amount of food)", they said. are from Wildlife Montenegro.
They proposed to start from legal legislation.
"Because how much we care about the future of this species is also shown by the fact that it is not recognized by the Law on Hunting, nor is it on the List of Animal Species Protected by Law," said Wildlife Montenegro.
Bonus video:
