National Trust say parts of Northumberland could support lynx population

The National Trust has said that while it is restoring parts of Northumberland that could support a lynx population, the reintroduction of the big cat could not be done without public support.

The Missing Lynx Project is currently touring the county discussing the possibility of bringing the apex predator back to Britain centuries after it disappeared from the landscape. The partnership between Northumberland Wildlife Trust (NWT), The Lifescape Project and the Wildlife Trusts is consulting on proposals to reintroduce lynx in north-west Northumberland, the edge of Cumbria and the bordering area of southern Scotland.

The National Trust has experience in reintroducing long-lost species to the county, after a family of beavers were released at Wallington in 2023. However, reintroducing a predatory species is far more complicated due to potential impacts on livestock.

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A spokeswoman for the National Trust said: "We know that in a natural environment, lynx would have played an important ecological role and would have helped control populations of deer and other herbivores.

"While we are restoring large, nature-rich landscapes that lynx could probably survive in, reintroducing them is not something we could do without a lengthy feasibility and consultation process, legal consent, and wide support from across society.”

The four Eurasian beavers were released on a tributary of the Hart Burn in Wallington last summer. The trust hope that the beavers will help to renew and restore nature, and create a "wildlife-rich wetland".

It was the third reintroduction of the animal in England, following releases at Holnicote in Devon and on the edge of the South Downs. Beavers became extinct in Britain in the 16th century.

The trust said that the wet weather during the winter means dams built by the beavers are already holding back a large amount of water. Before and after images show the difference the animals have made in a short space of time.

A spokeswoman for the trust said: "After a particularly wet winter, the beaver dams are holding back a large amount of water, which has been spreading across the land creating new ponds and wetland areas.

"The beavers have been busy creating channels, which help with accessibility and transporting their harvested trees and also building a new lodge. In the coming weeks, the Wilder Wallington volunteers, alongside the Rangers, will be starting a number of surveys on plant and insect life in the enclosure.

"We are hopeful that the adult beavers have had a successful breeding season and we will be enthusiastically viewing the wildlife camera footage from mid to late June for sightings of a new kit or kits. We will, of course, keep the public posted."