January, 2022 – One of our very own students, Juliette OLIVIER currently in her second year of the Master’s program, set up a camera trap in the Loue Valley in her free time and was lucky enough to get an extra special Christmas gift! She was able to capture these pictures of an individual Eurasian/Boreal lynx (Lynx lynx) who seemed to have taken refuge under a rocky shelter for a few minutes before returning to face the rain.
The lynx has inhabited the Jura Mountains for many years now. It is an emblematic mammal of the Franche-Comté region that is an indicator of the quality of forests. It is discreet, so you have to be very lucky to hope to come across one, staying particularly on the edges of forests to evolve in peace.
In France, the Eurasian lynx could be found in the plains and mountains of the Jura, the Vosges and the Alps. It completely disappeared from these landscapes in the 20th century to later return. Since 2019, it has been included in the list of endangered species by the IUCN. The Eurasian lynx has been fully protected in France since the ministerial decree of April 17, 1981 relating to protected mammals throughout the territory. It is threatened mainly by road traffic and poaching.