Rehabilitation and release of orphaned Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in Europe: Implications for management and conservation.

Rehabilitation of injured or immature individuals has become an increasingly used conservation and management tool. However, scientific evaluation of rehabilitations is rare, raising concern about post-release welfare as well as the cost-effectiveness of spending scarce financial resources. Over the past 20 years, events of juvenile Eurasian lynx presumably orphaned have been observed in many European lynx populations. To guide the management of orphaned lynx, we documented survival, rehabilitation and fate after the release and evaluated the potential relevance of lynx orphan rehabilitation for population management and conservation implications. Data on 320 orphaned lynx was collected from 1975 to 2022 from 13 countries and nine populations. The majority of orphaned lynx (55%) were taken to rehabilitation centres or other enclosures. A total of 66 orphans were released back to nature. The portion of rehabilitated lynx who survived at least one year after release was 0.66. Release location was the best predictor for their survival. Of the 66 released lynx, ten have reproduced at least once (8 females and 2 males). Conservation implications of rehabilitation programmes include managing genetic diversity in small, isolated populations and reintroducing species to historical habitats. The lynx is a perfect model species as most reintroduced populations in Central Europe show significantly lower observed heterozygosity than most of the autochthonous populations, indicating that reintroduction bottlenecks, isolation and post-release management have long-term consequences on the genetic composition of populations. The release of translocated orphans could be a valuable contribution to Eurasian lynx conservation in Europe. It is recommended to release orphans at the distribution edge or in the frame of reintroduction projects instead of a release in the core area of a population where it is not necessary from a demographic and genetic point of view. Rehabilitation programmes can have conservation implications that extend far beyond individual welfare benefits.

Physiological and behavioural responses of moose to hunting with dogs.

Optimal management of hunted species requires an understanding of the impacts of hunting on both individual animal and population levels. Recent technological advancements in biologging enable us to obtain increasingly detailed information from free-ranging animals, covering longer periods of time, and providing the data needed to assess such impacts. In Sweden, more than 80 000 moose are harvested annually, mostly hunted with the use of baying dogs. The effects of this hunting method on animal welfare and stress are understudied. Here, we evaluated 6 real and 17 experimental hunting approaches with baying dogs [wearing global positioning system (GPS) collars] on 8 adult female moose equipped with ruminal temperature loggers, subcutaneous heart rate (HR) loggers and GPS collars with accelerometers. The obtained data were used to analyse the behavioural and physiological responses of moose to hunting with dogs. Successful experimental approaches (moose and dog were within 240 m for >10 min) resulted in higher maximum body temperature (Tb, 0.88°C higher) and a mean increase in HR of 24 bpm in moose at the day of the approach compared to the day after. The moose rested on average >90 min longer the day after the approach compared to the day of the approach. The moose travelled on average 4.2 km longer and had a 1.3 m/s higher maximum speed the day of the approach compared to the day after. Our results demonstrate that hunting with dogs increase moose energy expenditure and resting time (and consequently decrease time available for foraging) on an individual level. This could possibly affect body condition and reproduction rates if the hunting disturbances occur frequently.