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The
Balkan Lynx – A majestic feline threatened by extinction (Aleksandër Trajçe)
The Albanian fauna is facing every day an
incredible illegal hunting pressure. Many species of animals are suffering from
this pressure, even those protected by the law. But an animal in particular, is
slowly going extinct, even before we fully get to know him. This is the lynx,
an animal that people rarely talk about. He wanderers majestic through the
forests of Albania, far away from people’s eyes. But it is maybe this people’s
indifference that can lead him to the extinction…
Recently, a project concerning the conservation
of the Balkan Lynx has started. Partners of this initiative are international
organizations like IUCN SSC/Cat Specialist Group, KORA, European Nature Heritage
Fund (Euronatur) and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA). On the
regional level, implementing partners are the societies Protection and
Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) and Macedonian
Ecological Society (MES). The multi-lateral project known as the “Balkan Lynx
Recovery Programme” aims, at a first stage, to stop the further decline of the
Balkan Lynx population through studying and monitoring the species, raising
public awareness, strengthening the law implementation and proclaiming of new
protected areas where the Lynx lives. |