A lynx, which was released illegally in the Cairngorms, has now died.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) confirmed the sad news on Saturday, January 11.
The lynx was part of a second pair released in the e Dell of Killiehuntly area within the Cairngorms on Friday.
Teams from RZSS, police and wildlife experts worked overnight to capture the animals released illegally.
The RZSS recaptured four lynx in total, with the first pair being transported to Edinburgh Zoo and quarantined.
However, the RZSS confirmed another two lynx had been sighted, so teams were dispatched to catch them for they would have died in the wild alone.
The second pair were successfully caught, however, it has now been announced that one of the cats has died.
One of the four lynx caught in Cairngorms has died
Dr Helen Senn, RZSS Head of Conservation said: “After extensive efforts to capture these animals safely and humanely, we were very sad to discover that one of them has died overnight.
“We do not yet know the circumstances behind its death but will be carrying out a postmortem to try to establish what happened.
“Whatever the case, this unfortunate development just serves to further demonstrate the folly of abandoning these amazing animals in the wild, with no preparation or real concern for their welfare.
“We can only imagine the stress that all four of the recovered lynx must have experienced after being thrust into an entirely new and extremely harsh environment to fend for themselves. Our team of expert keepers and veterinarians will now ensure that they get the best possible care moving forward.
“The surviving member of the pair will now be heading down to Edinburgh to quarantine alongside the two lynx who were captured on Thursday.”
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