Finland plans to launch intensive hunt to reduce lynx population

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry proposes granting 459 shooting licences for lynx, exceeding by half the sustainable culling levels as estimated by researchers

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By Heli Saavalainen
     
      Finland plans to reduce the number of Eurasian lynx (Lynx Lynx) sharply in the course of the upcoming winter.
      The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has decided to grant permits for the hunting of 459 lynx individuals.
      The number would exceed by half the sustainable culling levels, as estimated by the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute (RKTL).
     
The Ministry plans to launch an intensive winter hunt aiming at stemming the burgeoning lynx population, as the number of cases of livestock damage inflicted by the predators has increased, particularly in the reindeer herding area.
      Moreover, attitudes against the tufted-eared lynx have strengthened when the wild cats have begun to enjoy staying in people's backyards. This has led to conflicts for example in North Savo.
     
At present, the size of the Finnish lynx population is estimated at 2,200 to 2,400 individuals.
      The population has been growing briskly in the past few years, and over a period of five years, the number of lynx has more than doubled.
      According to RKTL, the present population could survive a loss of 282 individuals.
      However, special researcher Ilpo Kojola does not believe that even an intensive hunt could endanger the future of the strictly protected large carnivore.
      ”It would not endanger the lynx's favourable conservation status, as we are speaking about a species with a population of more than 2,000 individuals. Nevertheless, it is difficult to evaluate whether the population would now shrink. It would seem to be the objective of this move”, Kojola notes.
     
The lynx has spread across Finland, including the Helsinki region.
      In the capital, there are lynx at least in Vuosaari, while the number of lynx living in the province of Uusimaa is estimated at between 180 and 200.
      The densest population has been established in North and South Savo.
      Only in Central and Northern Ostrobothnia is the population of lynx sparse.
     
The purpose of the planned intensive hunting is to level down the development of the lynx numbers in order to prevent areas with a dense lynx population from being formed.
      The proposed maximum numbers for the hunt are 80 individuals in Northern Finland, 238 in Eastern Finland, and 141 lynx in Western Finland.
      According to Senior Adviser Jussi Laanikari from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s Department of Fisheries and Game, the Ministry is worried about the increasingly negative attitudes towards the lynx in certain areas of the country.
      ”If the growth in the population is too large, it could easily lead to conflicts among local residents”, Laanikari notes.
     
A fear of carnivores has strengthened for example in North Savo, where lynx have begun to spend time in yards.
      Attempts will be made to resolve the problem by earmarking 60 shooting licences for lynx that have become a little too familiar with human habitation.
      ”Hopefully the lynx population will come down”, says Laanikari.
      If residents’ tolerance-limits are exceeded, it can easily lead to illegality, he believes.
      In the case of wolves we have already seen what happens when the predator policy does not work properly, Laanikari notes.
      ”When the population grows too large, local people can no longer accept it. The situation will easily lead to poaching”, Laanikari adds.
      Illegal hunting is regarded as the most important reason for the collapse observed in the wolf population.
     
When it comes to the lynx, the growth in the wild cat population has led to the doubling of the number of reindeer damage claims over a period of five years.
      In 2009, the damage caused to reindeer by large carnivores amounted to approximately EUR 3.45 million.
      The proportion of damage caused by attacks by lynx was around one million euros.
      The number of lynx in the reindeer herding area is some 120 to 165.
      In other parts of Finland, the level of harm caused to domestic animals by lynx is generally low.
     
     
BACKGROUND: Lynx takes its prey by surprise
     
     
Finland’s large carnivores - the wolverine, the brown bear, the lynx, and the wolf - are all strictly protected species, and killing or disturbing them are banned by the European Union’s Nature Directives.
      However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry grants hunting quotas for lynx, wolf, and bear under certain conditions.
      It is possible to make exceptions to the strict conservation system, if no other satisfacory solution exists and hunting does not endanger the species’ favourable conservation status.
      The wolverine enjoys total protection and cannot be hunted at all.
     
The lynx is the most predatory species among all large carnivores: it feeds on small prey, including mammals and birds, which it has usually hunted itself.
      The lynx takes its prey by surprise, stalking and creeping close. It can leap as much as seven metres to pounce on its victim.
      Typical prey include white-tailed deer, roe deer, hare, grouse, and reindeer. Lynx also eat and kill squirrels, beavers, foxes, cats, and small mammals.
     
The average weight of a grown-up female lynx is 15 kilos, while that of a male is 20 kilos.
      The length of the animal is 70 to 140 centimetres, while the height is 60 to 75 centimetres.
      Lynx have retractable claws, which are usually not seen in their tracks. The claws are long and curved, up to 7 to 8 centimetres in length.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 10.11.2010


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Lynx suspected of having killed over 200 wild boars on farm in Eastern Finland (27.2.2008)
  Record number of lynx believed to be in Finland´s forests (13.3.2006)
  Xena the GPS-collar lynx stopped by in Vuosaari for a city-rabbit snack last summer (22.12.2009)

Links:
  Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx)
  Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute (RKTL)

HELI SAAVALAINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
heli.saavalainen@hs.fi