New Evidence of Lynx in Medieval Britain

A recent study has brought important insights into the history of the Eurasian lynx in Britain. It was once thought that the lynx became extinct here over 4,000 years ago, as a result of natural climatic change. However, subsequent studies have brought the extinction date forward. Most recently, scientists have used radiocarbon dating to age lynx bones found in a cave in north Yorkshire. The youngest of these are thought to be from around 1,500 years ago, bringing the extinction date into medieval times. This is significant, as it strongly suggests that human factors such as hunting, deforestation and declining prey populations caused its extinction in Britain.

This new evidence has even been of interest to linguists. A 7th century lullaby in the ancient language, Cumbric, contains a list of animals killed by a hunter. There had been some uncertainty about the identity of one of the animals in the poem, and the lynx was generally dismissed as a candidate, as it was thought to have been long-extinct by the 7th century. But these findings make it much more feasible that the animal being referred to, llewyn, was in fact a lynx as some scholars had thought.

The lynx is the largest of northern Europe’s two feline species (the other is the wild cat), but weighing around 20 kg it is harmless to humans. It is very much a woodland animal and its main prey is the roe deer, although young red deer, the introduced sika deer and foxes also feature in its diet.

Under the EU Habitats and Species Directive, member states including the UK are obliged to investigate the desirability of restoring native species that have been wiped out by humans. Successful re-introductions have already taken place in several parts of Europe, including France and Switzerland. With plenty of prey, and increasing habitat, there is a strong case for such an investigation in Scotland.

Dan Puplett

 

Reference:

Hetherington, D. A., Lord, T. C. and Jacobi, R. M. (2005). New evidence for the occurrence of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in medieval Britain. Journal of Quaternary Science, Vol 21, 3-8. ISSN 0267-8179.

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