Europe’s two lynx species are both making a remarkable comeback, with rewilding helping these beautiful, elusive cats reclaim lost ground — including in landscapes where Rewilding Europe works. Bringing wildness and wonder back to the continent, the return of these iconic animals is strengthening food webs and showing that people and carnivores can thrive together.

Last week, a male lynx – nicknamed ‘Ljubo’ – was released into the Velebit Mountains Rewilding landscape. Ljubo is the fifth lynx to be released in Croatia as part of the European LIFE Lynx project.

One of Europe’s most highly regarded Eurasian lynx experts talks about the comeback of this beautiful yet elusive feline.

Rewilding Europe’s writer and editor Daniel Allen spoke with Alexandros Karamanlidis, our regional manager and PhD wildlife biologist about the resurgence of apex predators across much of Europe, and the implications for conservation strategies and tourism.

On June 5 another event was held to share experience between members of the European Rewilding Network. This time the subject was about coexistence between people and large carnivores. This sixth web-based seminar included a presentation of two best-practice examples from areas with existing conflicts between local people and wildlife in Bulgaria and Spain. Webinar discussions focused on innovative methods as to how to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, and turn such problems into new opportunities.

Large carnivores are among the most controversial and challenging species to conserve in our modern and crowded world. Despite this, the brown bear, the Eurasian lynx, the gray wolf and the wolverine today all have stable or increasing populations in Europe. The European situation showcases that it is possible for large carnivores and people to share the same landscapes.

According to the Belgian TV-show “Dieren in nesten”, The European bison, the wolf, the brown bear, the wolverine, and the lynx are the “The Big 5 of Europe” – the continent’s five most impressive wild mammals. All these five are – and especially so the European bison which ranked as number 1 – among the symbolical species for Rewilding Europe and emblematic for the wildlife comeback in Europe.