July 18, 2026 – At least two Eurasian lynx cubs have been born in the Black Forest in southwestern Germany for the first time in around 200 years, following the release of female lynx in recent years in an ongoing reintroduction programme, the state of Baden-Württemberg said.
Genetic testing of hair collected from an abandoned den confirmed DNA from Verena, a female Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) released in the northern Black Forest in November 2024, together with a cub, the state said in a July 16 press release. That follows confirmation in June that lynx Elisabeth, released in September 2025, was caring for a cub.
The Lynx Baden-Württemberg project released another lynx, Luna, in the Black Forest on July 14, with State Minister for Rural Affairs, Agriculture and Homeland Marion Gentges saying the female would strengthen the genetic diversity of the local population. Six lynx have now been released in the area, bringing the total number of confirmed lynx in the Black Forest to 12, the state said.
The state aims to establish a breeding population of lynx in Baden-Württemberg to create a genetic exchange between neighboring populations in the Swiss Jura, France’s Vosges and the Palatinate Forest. The Black Forest, with its contiguous forest cover and rich wildlife, offers “ideal living conditions” for the lynx, according to the state.
“The Black Forest is closing a central gap in the Central European lynx population,” said Sybille Klenzendorf, director for wildlife conservation Germany and Europe at the World Wildlife Fund. “Networked, self-sustaining populations are the goal, today we are taking a step closer to this goal.”
Luna comes from the European conservation breeding programme for the Carpathian lynx subspecies and brings the number of females in the Black Forest to three. The lynx was born in June 2025 at Bojnice Zoo in Slovakia, and spent several months in a forest enclosure at the Karlsruhe Zoo to prepare for release.
The cub born to Verena was probably fathered by Reinhold, another released lynx. Camera-trap images had previously confirmed the two together during the mating season, according to Baden-Württemberg.
The Lynx Baden-Württemberg project started in the spring of 2023 and is set to run through to 2027, with the planned release of six to 10 animals, predominantly females, and with the aim of establishing a breeding population of lynx in the Black Forest.
All released lynx are fitted with radio collars, allowing researchers to monitor their behaviour, home ranges and breeding, and to determine where they establish territories in Baden-Württemberg.
In central Germany’s Thuringian Forest, a separate project plans to release as many as 20 lynx between 2024 and 2027 to create a stable population linking those in Germany’s Harz Mountains and the Bavarian Forest. The project has already reported successful breeding by released lynx.