On Friday, 7.08.2026, the West Pomeranian Nature Society was called to a dead lynx found in the Kokna River, near Złocieniec, in West Pomerania.
The very first information that our field worker heard left no illusions that we were dealing with an unnatural death of an animal. A ZTP field team, equipped with a metal detector, went to the scene, accompanied by the Commandant of the Forest Guard of the Złocieniec Forest District.
A bullet hole was found in the body of the dead lynx, and the detector confirmed the presence of metal. The female did not have a telemetry collar. Officers of the Investigation Department of the District Police Headquarters in Drawsko Pomorskie arrived at the scene, who conducted a visual examination of the corpse, secured evidence and began to explain the circumstances of the event.
Preliminary findings and collected evidence indicate that the lynx was most likely killed with a hunting weapon. Fragments of a bullet were extracted and secured from her body, which will be one of the key pieces of evidence in the ongoing proceedings.
The lynx was found in a river that is the border of two hunting districts leased by the hunting clubs „Jeleń” and „Cyranka”. It is in this area that further activities will be carried out to clarify the circumstances of her death.
The body of the shot lynx was in the water. The state of body decay was advanced, so it was no longer possible to determine whether she was a nursing mother. Most lynxes at this time have already taken their young out of their nests and families are moving. And it is this unknown that hurts the most.
If she raised her young, there may have been small lynxes somewhere in the forest, waiting for her return. They do not understand why the mother does not return. Without it, they have practically no chance of survival.
Perhaps with this one lynx we have lost not one, but several lives.
For many people, it is only one animal.
For us, it is the result of many years of work by many people. Hours spent in the field. Monitoring. Telemetry. Rescuing injured animals. Education. The fight to rebuild a species that has almost disappeared from northern Poland.
The lynx is a species under strict protection in Poland. Every loss of a single individual is important for the entire population. Today, the number of lynxes in Poland is estimated at only about two hundred individuals. Each adult female can decide about the future of the next generation.
Someone looked through the sights.
Someone made a decision.
Someone pulled the trigger.
And then tried to make this story disappear forever in the current of the river.
It will not disappear.
Such things can last for years. However, time does not mean forgetting.
This lynx was not an anonymous animal.
Employees of the West Pomeranian Nature Society took samples for genetic testing. Thanks to them, we will learn about its origin, we will be able to determine its genetic line and links with other lynxes from the project. We will find out where it came from and what place it occupied in the rebuilt population.
It was not a number in statistics. It was part of the history that we have been trying to rewrite for years.
If anyone thinks that everything is over with the shot, they are wrong.
This is just the beginning.
We will fight to determine the perpetrator. We will support the authorities conducting the proceedings. And we will not allow the death of this lynx to be forgotten. For her. For her perhaps orphaned young. For all lynxes that have the right to live in our forests.
We would like to thank the Police and the Commandant of the Forest Guard for the efficient conduct of procedures at the scene. We will keep you informed about the progress of the investigation, in consultation with the Police Headquarters.
photos: Marta JaKa and Miłosz Kowalewski | West Pomeranian Nature Society
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The activities are carried out by the West Pomeranian Nature Society as part of the LIFE22-NAT-PL-LIFE LYNX PL LT DE Project „Expanding the range of lynx populations in northern Poland”.
Funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the awarding authority can be held responsible for them. Co-financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and the WWF Poland Foundation.
The project partners are:
West Pomeranian Nature Society
WWF Poland,
Spychowo Forest District,
State Forests
Ekosistemų apsaugos centras
Rewilding Oder Delta
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