Fatal mix-up

Mistaken for wolves: Gamekeeper shoots 3 lynxes

Symbolic image

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer (Symbolbild))

Great excitement in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, which borders Austria. As has only now become known, a gamekeeper was on a night-time hunt for three wolf cubs on November 16, which he was supposed to shoot. But instead of the wolves, the man shot three lynxes - two of which had only been born this year.

At the time of the incident, the gamekeeper, who has his supervisory area outside the shooting area, was on a wolf regulation mission in the Surselva region on behalf of the Graubünden Office for Hunting and Fishing (AJF). He was looking for the remaining three of eight wolf pups from the "preliminary pack", which had been released for shooting at the beginning of September.

Mistaken identity despite thermal imaging
The three animals discovered were identified during the night using thermal imaging technology. The gamekeeper was firmly convinced that he was shooting at the three young wolves in question, which were in the area. The man reported the incident to his superiors immediately after finding the mistakenly shot lynxes. The animals shot were two young lynx from this year and one adult male lynx.

This is what a fawn looks like in a thermal imaging camera.

(Bild: Weishaupt)

Criminal consequences are being investigated
The gamekeeper filed a voluntary report with the public prosecutor's office of the canton of Graubünden. The circumstances that led to this shooting error are being investigated as part of the criminal investigation. The public prosecutor's office will decide on any criminal consequences. "We deeply regret the incident and will investigate it in detail," Adrian Arquint, head of the AJF, was quoted as saying in a press release from the canton of Graubünden. The office is aware that something like this should not happen. The AJF has immediately excluded the gamekeeper from wolf regulation until the incident has been fully clarified.

Are new lynx coming?
The Eurasian lynx is protected under federal law in Switzerland and is considered a species of very high national priority. At least seven lynx births were confirmed in the canton of Graubünden in the summer of 2024, but individual losses - such as those caused by the current incident - could affect the structure of the population, according to the Graubünden Office for Hunting and Fishing. The canton is therefore now examining with the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) whether the damage caused to the population should be compensated for by a one-off introduction of a comparable number of lynx from another area.