The two lynx seen in the Dell of Killiehuntly area near Kingussie around 7.10am on Friday, 10 January, 2025 have been safely captured.
The animals are now in the care of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
Enquiries are continuing to establish the full circumstances of how they came to be in the area, as well as the additional pair of lynx which were captured on Thursday, 9 January, 2025.
A police spokesperson said: “We would continue to ask people not to travel to the area, particularly in the current weather conditions.
TRAPPED: Action from yesterday’s capture. Images from tonight’s successful hunt by the team are still awaited. (RZSS)
“Further enquiries will remain ongoing in the woods, involving officers and specialist animal experts.”
A statement tonight from the experts who trapped the animals explained that the medium-sized cats were spotted on camera traps.
Staff from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland then baited a series of humane traps in the area to entice them with and have been working with Police Scotland and Rangers from the Cairngorms National Park Authority to monitor the area throughout the day.
The animals were captured at around 6:30 pm, near to the Dell of Killiehuntly, where two other lynx had been successfully caught the previous day. They will now be brought to the nearby Highland Wildlife Park to be checked over by RZSS veterinarians, before being moved to quarantine facilities in Edinburgh Zoo.
Dr Helen Senn, RZSS Head of Conservation said: “I’m sure that everyone in the community will be happy and relieved to know that the second pair of lynx have been safely captured.
“Early reports are that they appear to be in good health, which is the most important thing. It’s been a rollercoaster 48 hours, with people working throughout the day and night, in some extremely challenging conditions, but I’ve been so impressed by the efforts of our own staff as well as partners, and members of the local community to ensure that the outcome is a positive one. The lynx will now be moved to Highland Wildlife Park before being moved to Edinburgh Zoo to quarantine for 30 days.
“Although we don’t think that there are any more lynx out there, we will continue to monitor the release site under the direction of Police Scotland.”
The Cairngorms National Park Authority welcomed the news that the expert team from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, working closely with Police Scotland, Wildland Ltd and Park Authority rangers, had successfully caught the animals early this evening.
The pair will now be checked over by RZSS veterinarians at the Highland Wildlife Park before being moved to quarantine facilities at Edinburgh Zoo.
Grant Moir, Chief Executive of the CNPA, said: “We are really pleased to hear the news that the pair of lynx released illegally in the Cairngorms National Park have been safely trapped and are now being checked over by veterinarians at the Highland Wildlife Park.
CAUGHT: One of yesterday’s cats trapped at Killiehuntly in Badenoch (RZSS)
“We would like to pay tribute to the work of our partners RZSS, Police Scotland and Wildland Ltd, as well as our dedicated team of rangers and members of the local community, who have come together throughout the day to achieve this positive outcome.
“Once again, the Park Authority condemns the illegal release of wild animals in the strongest possible terms and attention must now turn to investigating how this took place. We would urge anyone with information on the release of these lynx to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0387 of Friday 10 January 2025.”