Four lynx “illegally released” into the Scottish Highlands have been captured by park rangers in a rollercoaster two-day rescue effort.
The search began on Wednesday afternoon when two lynx were spotted in the Cairngorms National Park, one of the last truly wild places remaining in the UK. The animals were captured the following day, lured with bait into humane traps.
Two additional lynx, which appeared to have been “deliberately abandoned,” were later spotted on camera traps Thursday night in the same region, according to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).
The 48-hour rescue effort was initially declared a victory by conservation groups, but the discovery of the medium-sized cats – which once roamed free in Scotland – has sparked fears that some might be taking rewildling into their own hands.
Lynx tend to ignore humans and don’t generally pose a threat, according to wildlife experts. Some conservationists have called for the lynx to be released back into the Scottish Highlands, but reintroducing the lost species has long been a thorny issue.
David Field, chief executive of RZSS, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that there are “rogue rewilders out there” who ignore international best practice with regard to the reintroduction of species.
“They are impatient and then proceed in a way which is this rebellious rogue rewilding. That’s really sad and that’s a real, real risk,” he said.
Edward Mountain, Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said the second lynx capture “would suggest a concerted approach to illegally reintroduce lynx,” according to PA Media.
Police Scotland and rangers from the Cairngorms National Park Authority joined the mammoth rescue effort and inquiries are being made into how the animals ended up roaming free in the park.
The second pair of cats were captured at around 6:30 p.m. local time on January 10 within the Kingussie region of the park and taken to the nearby Highland Wildlife Park to be assessed by vets, RZSS said.
The cats will be moved into quarantine for 30 days at Edinburgh Zoo, RZSS added.
“It’s been a rollercoaster 48 hours, with people working throughout the day and night, in some extremely challenging conditions,” Dr Helen Senn, RZSS Head of Conservation said in a statement Friday evening.
Senn added that they don’t think there are any more lynx in the park but will continue to monitor the release site.
Highland Wildlife Park said in a statement on Facebook that they “condemn the illegal release of these lynx in the strongest possible terms.”
“It is very unlikely they would have survived in the wild,” the park added.