Already 11 Lynx Fatalities on French Roads This Year: A Rising Concern

Recently, two new lynxes — a young one and another likely an adult male — were found dead along a roadside in Doubs, apparently victims of a vehicle collision during the night of April 29 to 30. According to a wildlife conservation association in Franche-Comté, this brings the total number of lynx road fatalities to eleven since the start of the year.

“This is more than last year at the same time,” emphasizes Gilles Moyne, director of the Athénas center. “The increase cannot be attributed to the slight expansion of the species’ range, but to a rise in road traffic that has been ongoing for two decades.”

Lynxes are especially at risk from February to April, a critical time that not only marks the mating season for adults, prompting increased movement, but also when young lynxes born the previous year start to become independent and explore new territories.

It is estimated that there are only about 150 lynxes in France. The deaths of eleven of them, which accounts for nearly 7% of the population in just four months, is alarming. Ferus notes that “road collisions have resulted in over 40 lynx deaths in the past two years.”

“There’s not much to be done except to slow down in wooded areas,” Moyne insists during an interview with France 3 Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The Athénas center also provides free signage to municipalities to alert drivers to the presence of lynxes and encourage them to reduce speed.

If you hit a lynx or find an injured one, the Athénas center has established an emergency number, 06 76 78 05 83. They advise not to touch the animal, not to try to capture it, and to keep your distance to avoid causing it to flee.