Lynx offspring in the Thuringian Forest

21.10.2025

In the Thuringian Forest, not far from Sachsenbrunn, a female lynx with two cubs was photographed using a wildlife camera. A female lynx with cubs had already been observed in the area last year. This was the first lynx offspring in the Thuringian Forest in more than 150 years.

The images were taken on July 29 this year and were only discovered recently when the camera data was analyzed. The lynx is believed to be the same mother lynx from the previous year. She probably migrated from northern Bavaria, where a small lynx population has developed in recent years thanks to successful conservation efforts by the Bavarian authorities.

The father of the young lynxes could be a lynx released into the wild as part of the “Lynx Thuringia” project: Viorel, a male lynx from the Romanian Carpathians, established his territory in the Sachsenbrunn area shortly after his release, as evidenced by data from his GPS collar. During the coming winter months, attempts will be made to determine the paternity conclusively by examining genetic material from fecal samples. From a genetic perspective, it is important to investigate which lynxes are reproducing and thus contributing to the newly emerging lynx population.