Is a Eurasian lynx roaming the Ardennes?
Deep in the Semois Valley, on the southern edge of the Belgian Ardennes, researchers are using artificial intelligence to track down one of Europe’s most elusive predators: the Eurasian lynx.
VRT NWS has reported that special audio recorders have already captured more than 1,700 hours of forest sounds. By analysing these recordings using AI software, scientists can identify the calls of dozens of species and, they hope, eventually confirm whether a lynx has settled in the region.
The Semois Valley, partly designated a national park in 2023, is a landscape of dense forests and open clearings where nature is actively being restored. In 2020 and 2021, camera traps captured images of a lynx on two occasions.
These repeated sightings suggested that the species might be establishing itself in Belgium once again, after decades of absence. However, no further proof has emerged since then, leaving a sense of mystery and expectation.
Conservationists are trying to tip the balance. "By opening up former spruce monocultures, we create clearings with shrubs where lynx can stalk prey such as roe deer or hares," Hans Moyson of WWF Belgium told VRT NWS. "These habitats help the lynx, but they also benefit many other species."
"If the lynx can survive here, it means the ecological corridors are functioning properly. That's good news for many species"
For biologists, the return of the lynx would be significant. As an apex predator, the lynx regulates the number of roe deer, allowing forest undergrowth to regenerate and boosting plant diversity.
Their presence also indicates the health of the wider landscape, as they require large, connected habitats with minimal human disturbance.
"If the lynx can survive here, it means the ecological corridors are functioning properly. That's good news for many species, not just one," says WWF biologist Corentin Rousseau.
The Eurasian lynx is the largest feline native to Europe. It weighs between 20 and 30kg, about the same as a medium-sized dog. It once roamed widely across the continent, but centuries of hunting and deforestation drove it to extinction in Western Europe.
Today, the strongest populations are found in Russia, Finland and Romania. Thanks to reintroduction projects, lynx have been re-established in parts of Central Europe, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the French Vosges region.
In the Ardennes and the Black Forest, recovery is gradually under way, albeit still fragile.
Secretive creatures
Lynx are solitary and secretive creatures that prefer to live in mixed or dense woodlands. Their diet mainly consists of roe deer, but they also eat hares and foxes. Mating season runs from January to March, when the males and females vocalise to attract a mate.
The lynx is strictly protected by law in most European countries, though controlled hunting still occurs under licence in Sweden and Norway. This practice is criticised by conservationists as it threatens recovery efforts.
Even as international efforts to restore populations increase, habitat loss and human disturbance continue to put significant pressure on them.
Whether the lynx has truly returned to Belgium remains unproven. But the combination of habitat restoration, modern acoustic monitoring and growing regional connectivity gives conservationists hope.
© PHOTO IMAGEBROKER
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