Lynx

[Tom]

No, not the stuff that attracts loads of women (although I must be buying faulty cans, it never works for me). Some blokes up north want to reintroduce big bitey cats to help boost our island's biodiversity. Chowing down on the odd deer, that kind of thing. I think this is brilliant.

Anyway, there's a survey here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/reintroduction

I think it's worth getting a good range of opinions on this matter so if you have two minutes (that's all it takes), please click and write.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-31800432

 

[DaGaffer]

Bloody immigrants.

 

[Moriath]

Re introduce?

I know we had wolves and birds of prey. Wasn't aware of Lynx. If so how long ago was there a population in the uk?

And do we want to reintroduce big cats or dinosaurs. I mean they were here in the past

 

[Lamp]

I thought this was going to be about deodorant. Damn.

Now I'm going to have to watch Topless Cheerleaders in Antlers, Vol. 12. Again.

 

[SilverHood]

I'm kinda against it, but then the without an apex predator countryside suffers, so yeah, go for it.

 

[Moriath]

I'm kinda against it, but then the without an apex predator countryside suffers, so yeah, go for it.

We have an apex predator. It's man. We kill the deer. Largest mammal for meat. Don't need any other apex predators.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Got 'em here, no problem. Though it's called axe here.

 

[Fweddy]

I think it's brilliant news and I really hope it happens.

 

[Scouse]

Of course there are risks but on balance I'm strongly for it. The reintroduction of top-level predators transforms damaged ecosystems and can help them thrive. Eco tourism is a fantastic financial benefit and the farmers have nothing to worry about.

I'd shit myself if I saw a 2 meter long cat tho


Edit: Shame now is that we introduced myxi to kill the rabbits off - if we had top-level predators then that job would have been partly done for us - and rabbit pie is excellent.

 

[Raven]

I would like to see them but I don't really see an ecological benefit.

The trouble is, cats take the path of least resistance, they will take the sheep, helpfully placed in a field rather than pissing about hunting for deer through the forest.

Besides which, a lynx is not going to bring down a deer.

It's easy enough to manage deer population with a rifle.

 

[Fweddy]

It's unlikely that they'd go after sheep, they're very much woodland creatures.

And if deer populations are so easily managed why are there too many of them?

 

[old.Tohtori]

And if deer populations are so easily managed why are there too many of them?

Probably government incompetence. Trying to maximise hunting license fees and not making sure the licenses match the deer population thinning needs.

 

[Scouse]

I would like to see them but I don't really see an ecological benefit.

There's a lot of emerging evidence that top-level predators are "keystone" species - the reintroduction of which acts positively transformatively on the whole ecosystem below them.

For example...

The absence of top-level predators in many natural areas in North America has resulted in overabundant ungulate populations, cascading negative impacts on plant communities, and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem processes

And a more readable article published in New Scientist in 2006 entitled bring dingoes back to stop species extinction.

They're not the best articles ever (cursory google) - but you get the drift. Top-level predation has a huge balancing effect on the ecosystem below that allows for a much greater biodiversity.

The trouble is, cats take the path of least resistance, they will take the sheep, helpfully placed in a field rather than pissing about hunting for deer through the forest.

Besides which, a lynx is not going to bring down a deer.

Apart from the fact that farmers will be compensated for any losses - sheep are larger than some common species of deer. But it's not only deer (which Lynx clearly do feed on) - they will predate on a wide range of smaller animals - which has knock-on effects for plant life - and a diverse flora is key to a healthy ecosystem.

Farmers will get compensated for any losses. Aside from that - correct environmental stewardship is the morally correct thing to do IMO.

 

[Trem]

No, not the stuff that attracts loads of women (although I must be buying faulty cans, it never works for me).

You buy the kind that attracts Trem's, way more potent and better truth be told. Why have wimmin when you can have Trem?

 

[Scouse]

Oooh. Reluctant to post this because of who the narrator is (he's not popular around these parts). Well, and the presentation is a bit gay. But it's exactly on topic and a fascinating thing about the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone national park...

Worth a watch @Raven m8


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

 

[Draylor]

Guess I'm alone in expecting a retro web browser thread. Ah well

 

[Trem]

Oooh. Reluctant to post this because of who the narrator is (he's not popular around these parts). Well, and the presentation is a bit gay. But it's exactly on topic and a fascinating thing about the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone national park...

Worth a watch @Raven m8


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

Yeah fucking nice one Mickey just sent my dogs ape shit

 

[Scouse]

Yeah fucking nice one Mickey just sent my dogs ape shit

Ace

It does have the word "Wolves" on it in big writing...

 

[Trem]

Ace

It does have the word "Wolves" on it in big writing...

It doesn't have the words "don't have it loud because it starts with lots of bastards howling" on it though

 

[Raven]

Oooh. Reluctant to post this because of who the narrator is (he's not popular around these parts). Well, and the presentation is a bit gay. But it's exactly on topic and a fascinating thing about the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone national park...

Worth a watch @Raven m8


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

Yeah, I fully understand how larger predators can help (the wolves in yellowstone etc) but we are talking about relatively tiny packets of land in the UK and I just don't think its worth it. I also understand how an apex predator helps with all sorts of wildlife, survival of the fittest etc but I think in the UK...or certainly in the South, there are simpler and probably more productive methods. An 11kg Lynx is not going to be taking down aged deer, just young deer.

 

[Scouse]

I hear what you are saying @Raven but I think you are basing your analysis on flawed information.

1) They're talking about Scotland, not down south.
2) An adult Lynx weighs 18-30 kilos.
3) Your assertion that Lynx don't take large animals down is incorrect:

Lynx preys largely on small to fairly large sized mammals and birds. Among the recorded prey items for the species are hares, rabbits, marmots, squirrels, dormice, other rodents, mustelids (such as martens), grouse, red foxes, wild boar, chamois, young moose, roe deer, red deer, reindeer and other ungulates.

(I was surprised by Wild Boar - they're real motherfuckers).
If wiki is not enough, here's a link to an abstract of a scientific paper about the predation of Red Deer by the Eurasian Lynx.

How about a video of a lynx and her deer prey?

Given this updated information, and aside from the moral imperative to responsibly manage our ecosystems, do you care to re-evaluate your stance?

 

[leggy]

I'm all for this as they look cool as fuck and Scotland needs more cool stuff.

There is a deer centre near my folks house in Scotland and they have some Lynx in captivity. Absolutely beautiful looking animals.

 

[leggy]

Just in case you're in any doubt, here's a baby lynx calling you a sailor:

 

[Job]

Reintroduce Lynx...ffs, if these fuckers could make a dinosaur you can bet there would be T rexs roaming special areas remade into jurassic swamps ...stop trying to freeze the world, if people 100,000 years ago had these hippies we would still be living in mud huts fighting off sabre toothed tigers.
Life moves on and new species are waiting in the wings.

 

[Gwadien]

Reintroduce Lynx...ffs, if these fuckers could make a dinosaur you can bet there would be T rexs roaming special areas remade into jurassic swamps ...stop trying to freeze the world, if people 100,000 years ago had these hippies we would still be living in mud huts fighting off sabre toothed tigers.
Life moves on and new species are waiting in the wings.

Job, you're still the same species as a human I'm afraid.