DISTRIBUTION

The lynx in Switzerland is divided between two populations – Jura and Alps. The Jura population extends across the entire Jura Arc from Lake Geneva to Brugg AG. In the Alps, the lynx have so far spread mainly on the north side, where they are present from Lake Geneva to Lake Constance. However, central Switzerland west (Emmental and the area around the Napf) and the eastern central Switzerland (area between Lake Lucerne and Lake Walen) are not yet fully colonised. The occurrence in north-eastern Switzerland originated from translocations from the Jura and the Northwest Alps from 2001 onwards. Outside the northern side of the Alps, the species is mainly found on the right bank of the Rhône and in the Upper Valais, as well as in the Surselva. The remaining part of Graubünden, southern Valais and Ticino are currently being colonised by the lynx. There is increasing evidence of its presence on the Central Plateau, particularly in the area north of Lausanne. The lynx has been successfully reproducing there for over 10 years.

Lynx records are presented in the Monitorung Center.

Monitoring and management are traditionally organised by the individual countries. However, all viable lynx populations expand over international boundaries. The network Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe, an IUCN/SSC specialist group, periodically collects the most recent data on the status, management and distribution of the carnivores in Europe.

Recent survey:

• Large carnivore distribution maps and population, updates 2017 – 2022/23, Version 1.2. (2024) 

Earlier surveys:

• Status, management and distribution of large carnivores – bear, lynx, wolf & wolverine – in Europe. Part I (2013)
• Status, management and distribution of large carnivores – bear, lynx, wolf & wolverine – in Europe. Part II (2013)
• Guidelines for Population Level Management Plans for Large Carnivores (2008)
• KORA-Bericht 19 “Status and conservation of the Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) in Europe in 2001”
• Action Plan for the Conservation of the Eurasian Lynx in Europe (2000)

The Lynx genus includes four species, two in North America (Bobcat L. rufus in the U.S. and Mexico, Canada lynx L. canadensis in Canada and Alaska) and two in Eurasia (Eurasian lynx L. lynx and Iberian lynx L. pardinus in Spain). Lynx are generally typical hunters of mid-sized mammals (hares). Since the last ice age, the Eurasian lynx has however become a specialist hunter of small even-toed ungulates and is now about twice as heavy (17–26 kg) as its closest relative, the Canada lynx (10–15 kg).

Many subspecies of the Eurasian lynx are described. As of the current state of research, six subspecies of the lynx are proposed:

• Northern lynx L. l. lynx in Scandinavia, Finland, Baltic States, Belarus, European part of Russia east to the Yenissei river,
• Carpathian lynx L. l. carpathicus in East and Central Europe, as well as in the reintroduced populations in Western Europe,
• Balkan lynx L. l. balcanicus in the Balkans,
• Caucasus lynx L. l. dinniki in the Caucasus, Asia Minor, Iran and Iraq,
• Turkestan lynx L. l. isabellinus in Central Asia including the Himalayas and Tibet, and
• Siberian lynx L. l. wrangeli in Russia east of the Yenissei River to China.