Known Individual Documented in a New Area
A Balkan lynx previously recorded in the Polis–Valamarë area has now been documented between Korçë and Skrapar in southern Albania, making it the southernmost recorded sighting of a Balkan lynx in Albania and the Balkans to date. The new record expands our knowledge of this individual’s movements and provides an important clue for finding possible ecological connections between habitats.
© PPNEA
Camera-trap images allowed the PPNEA team to identify the lynx by its distinctive spot patterns on the flanks, shoulders, legs and other visible parts of its body. Comparison with photographs in the databases of PPNEA and the Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme, including records from the Valamarë area in 2020, confirmed that it is the same individual previously documented in the Polis–Valamarë area.
The new record adds another location to this individual’s known movements. While it does not reveal the exact route taken, it provides a valuable starting point for investigating how the lynx moves through the wider landscape and whether ecological connections exist between these areas. Such connections are particularly important for lynx. Ecological corridors allow animals to move between suitable habitats in search of food, shelter and other individuals. Habitat fragmentation, by contrast, can isolate otherwise suitable areas.
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The polygon represents the Polis–Valamarë–Ostrovicë area in Albania, where the presence and reproduction of the Balkan lynx in Polis–Valamarë was confirmed in 2020. In 2026, one individual was documented further south, in Ostrovica Mountain, representing the southernmost confirmed record of the Balkan lynx in Albania and in the Balkan region. © PPNEA
At this stage, it is not yet clear what role the newly documented area plays for this lynx. It could serve as a passage between habitats or form part of a larger area used by the animal. Further monitoring is needed to determine whether the lynx returns regularly, finds food or shelter there, or has established a territory.
Further monitoring will help clarify the role of this area in the lynx’s movements and inform efforts to protect important habitats and their connections.