ONE of four lynx released illegally in freezing temperatures in the Scottish Highlands has died after it was recaptured.
The big cats were found in pairs near Kingussie, about 50 miles south of Inverness in the Cairngorms National Park two days apart.
Dr Helen Senn, head of conservation at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which has been leading the recapturing operations, confirmed one of the lynx from the second pair has died.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday morning at Highland Wildlife Park, near Kingussie, where both pairs of cats were taken straight after being recaptured, she said: “Unfortunately overnight we have had the news that one of the lynx hasn’t made it.
“This is a shame in terms of the outcome for that animal and it illustrates the risk of these sort of scenarios.”
Dr Senn said it was a "very sad" discovery after efforts were made to capture the animals "safely and humanely".
She added: "We do not yet know the circumstances behind its death but will be carrying out a postmortem to try to establish what happened.
"Whatever the case, this unfortunate development just serves to further demonstrate the folly of abandoning these amazing animals in the wild, with no preparation or real concern for their welfare.
"We can only imagine the stress that all four of the recovered lynx must have experienced after being thrust into an entirely new and extremely harsh environment to fend for themselves.
"Our team of expert keepers and veterinarians will now ensure that they get the best possible care moving forward.
“The surviving member of the pair will now be heading down to Edinburgh to quarantine alongside the two lynx who were captured on Thursday."
She thanked members of the local community who she described as being "amazing throughout" the episode to support the team in "extremely challenging conditions".
The first pair were spotted on Wednesday afternoon and recovered in the night on Thursday.
Another pair were then found early on Friday morning and recovered later that evening.
All four cats are believed to have been from the same litter, if not certainly connected in some way.
Experts said they were young, and clearly habituated animals - used to warmth and humans feeding them.
David Barclay, of RZSS, said the recovered cats were “released into a very harsh environment”, and from the evidence so far, “it doesn’t look like they were in anyway ready for life in the wild".
He added: “This is one of the coldest, if not the coldest night we’ve had all year, and these animals were clearly habituated."
The Highlands experienced some of the coldest temperatures on record last night, with the most northern part of the region seeing temperatures dropped to minus 18.7C, making it the UK’s coldest January night in 15 years.
Rumours have been circulating in Kingussie that six lynx were released and another pair could be on the loose.
In response, Dr Senn said: “We just don’t know at the moment. We were able to pick up these second two because we’ve been monitoring the first release sight, and we are continuing to conduct ongoing monitoring under the direction of Police Scotland.
“It’s important for us to keep that open. At the moment, there is no indication that any other of these animals are out there and hopefully this is going to be a conclusion for this quite full on scenario that has involved a huge number of people and we’re hugely grateful for their help.”
The third lynx left Highland Wildlife Park on Saturday morning with a specialist team to join the other recovered big cats.
Due to biosecurity laws, the three will remain in quarantine for 30 days before they are potentially moved elsewhere.
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