Lynx dies after being caught in the Cairngorms

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has confirmed that a lynx captured near Kingussie in the Cairngorms National Park on Friday has died overnight.

The feral cat was one of four illegally released cats caught in the same area in recent days.

The animals were humanely captured in pairs in the Dales in the Killyhuntly area.

The society said it was “completely confident” that there were no other wild animals in the area. An investigation is underway to find out how they reached there.

After their capture, the animals were taken to the Highland Wildlife Park before being taken to Edinburgh Zoo, where the surviving lynxes will remain in quarantine for 30 days.

Some conservation groups are campaigning to reintroduce feral cats to Scotland.

Helen Sen, head of conservation at the RZSS, said: “Unfortunately overnight we received news that one of the lynx had not made it.

“It was found dead this morning.”

He said that a complete post-mortem will be conducted.