Specially trained staff from the Highland Wildlife Park are assisting officers to trace the animals.
A Police Scotland spokesperson told the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald: “Around 4.20pm on Wednesday, 8 January 2025, police were advised that two lynx had been spotted in the Drumguish area near to Kingussie.
“As a precaution, and also for the animals’ safety, specially trained staff from Highland Wildlife Park are assisting officers to trace them.
“Members of the public are asked not to approach the lynx nor indeed attend the area, but instead to contact police via 101 if they are spotted.”
Lynx were once native to Britain (stock pic) (Image: PA) The Cairngorms National Park Authority have said the animals were shy and a “low risk” to humans, but added they should not be approached.
A spokesperson said: “We condemn the illegal release of wild animals in the strongest possible terms and we are also concerned for the welfare of the lynx that have been released.”
The authority also said people should not attend the area and appealed to anyone with information about the lynx to contact police, external.
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Lynx were once native to Britain, but were driven to extinction between 500 to 1,000 years ago.
But some conservation groups have been campaigning to have the wild cats reintroduced to Scotland.
Lynx to Scotland, a three-charity partnership working to restore lynx to the Scottish Highlands, has been made aware of two lynx seen and photographed in the western Cairngorms.
Lynx are adapted to cold climates (stock pic) (Image: NQ) Peter Cairns, executive director of Scotland: The Big Picture, one of the charities involved, told BBC Scotland: “The Lynx to Scotland Project knows nothing of the origin of these two lynx, their history, health status, or who may have released them.
“We understand the frustration of all those who wish to see lynx restored to the Scottish landscape, but an illegal release is not the way to achieve that aim.”
Mr Cairns said the project had never supported or condoned illegal releases.
He added: “This is unwelcome and grossly irresponsible, but comes at the worst possible time, when stakeholders are engaging in good faith with productive discussions about the possibility of a responsibly managed and fully resourced legal reintroduction.”