Camera traps set in the eastern Albanian region of Polis-Guri i Zi have recorded the existence of a family of three Balkan lynx, a species that has been on the brink of extinction for nearly a century.
Cameras set up by Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) and the Elbasan Regional Administration of Protected Areas captured the proof for the existence of another Balkan lynx population in Albania, as the Polis-Guri i Zi region joins the northern Albanian region of Munella, and the Macedonian Mavrovo National Park as the only regions where this critically endangered species is observed to reproduce.
This also constitutes the southernmost sighting of the Balkan lynx in the peninsula. The Balkan lynx is the largest cat, and the third largest predator in the Balkans.
Unfortunately, it is estimated that their total population is fewer than 50. They are primarily endangered as a result of poaching and habitat degradation due to logging.
