by Anna Williams
21st September 2025
First steps are taken towards reintroducing this species to the north of England…
The past decades have seen wildlife decline at an alarming rate across the planet, and the UK is no exception. The UK ranks in the bottom 10% globally for our biodiversity, and one in six species is now threatened with extinction here. Despite these worrying declines, it’s not too late to bring nature back, and with inspiring and ambitious rewilding and conservation projects gaining traction across the UK, there is certainly hope for the future. Nature recovery across the UK relies on restoring a mosaic of wild habitats, letting nature lead to create healthy, balanced ecosystems. Given we have lost so many of our vital native species, a large part of nature recovery and rewilding involves bringing back some of these missing species. One such species is the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), thought to have gone extinct in Britain during the medieval period (1066-1485) due to hunting and habitat loss.
Eurasian lynx are elusive cats living in woodlands across mainland Europe, where they hunt for roe deer in the twilight of dusk and dawn, or the dark of night. The lynx is one of two cat species native to Britain. The other is the wildcat (Felis silvestris), which is now only found in Scotland. Lynx are about the size of a small labrador dog and being extremely elusive, they are very rarely seen and are not dangerous to people.
Lynx play a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. As carnivores at the top of their food chain, lynx have impacts on many other species. Some impacts are direct, such as reducing the populations of the animals they hunt. Others are indirect, such as providing food for scavengers like beetles and birds, which feed on the remains of a lynx’s prey. There can be more complex, cascading effects too. Deer are important in the environment as they feed on plants and trees. However, when there are too many deer, plants and trees can struggle to grow. As deer are the main prey of lynx, they can help control deer populations, giving forests a chance to regrow. This cascade of impacts can reinstate natural processes within an ecosystem that we have lost over time.
The Missing Lynx Project, led by The Lifescape Project in partnership with Northumberland Wildlife Trust, and The Wildlife Trusts, is exploring the possibility of bringing lynx back to England. The project area covers Northumberland, Cumbria and Southern Scotland, and has been exploring whether there is an area in the UK where lynx could live and whether local people in northern England and southern Scotland would accept having lynx back in the landscape. Detailed research found that if lynx were to be released in Northumberland, they could grow into a healthy population covering north-west Northumberland, the edge of Cumbria and the bordering areas of southern Scotland. Only in this area do we have the extensive forest habitats that lynx need. This research was peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Environmental Management.
Although we don’t currently have enough woodland habitat to welcome lynx back to Yorkshire, our region has played a significant role in their history in Britain. The latest historical lynx evidence comes from near Settle in North Yorkshire, where a lynx tibia was found and dated to the early medieval period (1,500 years ago), providing evidence that lynx once roamed here. Since then, significant areas of land and forest have been cleared for crops and domestic animals.
The next step of the project was to listen to what local people in northern England / southern Scotland think about the idea of bringing lynx back to the UK. The project has run a social consultation since March 2024, with a ‘Missing Lynx Exhibition’, community workshops, focus groups, 1:1 interviews and a questionnaire. Recently, The Missing Lynx Project has announced that, with more than 1000 responses to the local questionnaire, 72% of people in the project area would support a reintroduction of lynx. This is incredibly positive, and the project will now continue to work with local communities to consider how a reintroduction project could be managed to maximise benefits and reduce risks. Following release of these results, the project has shared a new questionnaire more widely, to gather views on lynx and their reintroduction from across the UK, to understand how the nation feels about potentially bringing lynx back. The link to complete this questionnaire can be found at the end of this blog.
I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of this project, working as the ‘Species Recovery Engagement Officer’ from November 2023 to May 2025. The project hosted an interactive and immersive ‘Missing Lynx Exhibition’, that toured 15 venues in northern England and southern Scotland from April 2024 to April 2025, and my role involved planning and delivering the exhibition, and engaging with visitors. I thoroughly enjoyed having in-depth and complex conversations about the potential benefits and practicalities of a lynx reintroduction with local residents, farmers, landowners, foresters and more! Engaging with over 10,000 people at the exhibition, workshops and talks, we reached people from a wide range of different backgrounds, all with varying views and opinions on the project, something that was always welcomed.
© Sam Cartwright
© Anna Williams
Three main highlights stand out for me in this role. Firstly, the opportunity to share my enthusiasm and knowledge of rewilding and species reintroductions with the people I met through the exhibition, workshops and other events. I constantly aimed to inspire others and give them hope for the future, encouraging them to take small steps to contribute to reversing the declines in nature.
Secondly, a trip to Germany in October 2024, where we visited three active lynx reintroduction projects and met with the incredible project teams dedicating their lives to helping European lynx populations. We tracked recently reintroduced lynx in the wild (with the help of an adorable wildlife detection dog called Leo) and learnt more about the forests that these lynx (and maybe one day lynx in the UK) call home.
Thirdly, the opportunity to learn from The Missing Lynx Project team themselves. Many of them have been working on lynx or other species reintroductions for a number of years, so to start my career alongside such a knowledgeable and dedicated team was so beneficial to my personal and professional development.
Perhaps one of the most significant things this role has taught me is the importance of putting people and communities at the heart of conservation and rewilding projects, listening to the needs and opinions of these individuals and giving them a voice. Nature recovery should benefit people both locally and nationally, and it is therefore vital to include communities in the planning and decision making of such projects.
As I now move on to my next community engagement role in conservation with the Aire Rivers Trust, I leave The Missing Lynx Project feeling inspired and hopeful for the future, knowing that there are incredible teams of people fighting for nature and biodiversity, and putting people and communities at the heart of this!
Visit the links below to learn more about the project and complete the national questionnaire:
Project website: www.missinglynxproject.org.uk
Supporting documents (ecological research, practical aspects, consultation summary): www.missinglynxproject.org.uk/about-project/supporting-documents
Read more about the historical evidence for lynx: www.missinglynxproject.org.uk/blog/professor-hannah-o-regan/if-bones-could-talk
Sign up to the project newsletter: www.missinglynxproject.org.uk/get-involved/newsletter
Read the social consultation key findings report: www.missinglynxproject.org.uk/about-project/views-project-area
Complete the national questionnaire: www.missinglynxproject.org.uk/get-involved/share-your-views