Diary » Release from enclosure
06.11.2008
Today, an important day not only for the lynxes but also for us arrives. We will see if we did not damage something and if everything will function as we planned. We opened the doors in the pen to Muro as first. He sat before the pen very carefully and observed. Later, he ventured to come to quails and hens. When he stopped to be interested in it, he came back to the pen slowly. He was interested in the brook and he immediately entered it. He was very comic when he tried to swim. He was completely wet and he tried to go to the bank to shake. He went along the bank to the electric fence. He tried to sniff it and he obtained one shot. He was in a panic, jumped over the fence and I thought that it is a very bad situation. But before I could curse he jumped over the fence again and immediately ran to the pen. Everybody relaxed. We need exactly this. When they will feel in the danger or under threat they will come back to the pen. We gave Muro a turkey’s neck in the pen. When he ate it he started to clean himself and lick because he was still wet. It was similar with Líza. Initially careful steps, quails and hens. Because the doors to the cottage was opened, Líza entered the cottage alone.
07.11.2008
Today, the lynxes wanted to do nothing. They laid on the timber and we had a small problem to lure them into the pen and then release them. Muro went out as first again. After the stop close to the quails and hens he saw Lili. According to a catchphrase – dog and cat it is a good hunting game – they started to run before the cottage. Lili provoked Muro and he always bristled up his back and attacked her. Lili also was injured a little bit and so she paid more attention. Finally, Muro went to the pen again so we released Líza. After usual look towards the quails she stopped close to the hens. But one hen did not pay attention and it started to cackle very scary and surprisingly when it felt Líza´s claws. Fortunately, nothing happened excepting the hen was in shock. Lila started to provoke again and she had a binge of fitness with Líza during crazy hunting games.
08.11.2008 Our friends from the Technical University in Zvolen and from Slovenia, whose deal with telemetry of the lynxes, visited us. Because our lynxes will obtain also collars with satellite telemetry before releasing, we had a relatively nice exchange of views and experiences. In the afternoon we cut wood. Miloš already found that the lynxes are interested in chainsaws, or at least its smell, and in the evening they can not tire of scents and they still rub against the chainsaw. We try to flick them away with broom but for them it is another game and small pieces from the broom started to fly around.
10.11.2008
Yesterday evening as well as today morning Líza did not want to eat. I made a fire in the room, they are satisfied, sleep on the timber under the ceiling.
11.11.2008
In the evening we administered them tablets Cestal Cat against intestinal parasites. The obtained three tablets in the meat. One tablet per 4 kg of body weight.
12.11.2008
The reasons of the Líza´s loss of appetite are known. We found ascarids in her scats. Cestal Cat was effective.
13.11.2008
Only 2 voles were trapped – 1 in the hood trap, the second one alive. The lynxes played with them only for 5 minutes and they ate them immediately. In the morning as well as in the evening Líza ate only half of bowl with meat. We must not offer Líza´s meat to Muro, he immediately ate it. Lízka has a small problem with breathing it looks like snuffles. In cats it means that they have intestinal parasites. We have to administer a tablet against worm again, about 2 weeks later. Ascarids and other worms are “pigs” because once they enter the intestinal tract and later when they develop in the gut, adult ones migrate to the rectum where they put the eggs. During hair cleaning or scat burning the eggs get into the stomach again. Here they are activated and after the transfer through the gut the larvae pass through the gut wall to the blood and then to the lungs where they develop and migrate to the bronchi mucus. If the cat or also the man ate this mucus, he could be infected secondarily and the number of adult worms in the body increases. Because of this it is necessary to repeat administration of the tablets against intestinal parasites twice at least.
14.11.2008
In the morning, Líza did not eat again. Today, we released Muro as first and he immediately started to run after with Lili. Líza watched them from the window in the room and she really would like to be there with them so we released her. Muro, when he saw Líza, he was not more interested in Lili and came really happy to welcome Líza with lynx´ salute – head bang (classic “rams, rams buc” – in the fact it is a packet if an adult lynx welcome you in this way). Then, together they started to pursue Lili. After a moment a black terrain car appeared on the road, the lynxes immediately observed it and ran to the pen through the doors. Later, Tomáš with Siska arrived.
Today, we changed off Erika and Miloš. Miloš told us that they released both lynxes in the same time so together with Siska we are looking how we will release them tomorrow.
15.11.2008 It is a nice sunny day, actually, we can go outside in T-shirts if the sun shines on the cottage. We released Muro and Líza. Immediately, they started to pursue Lili. Lili provoked them and she is not afraid at all. Líza passed over the fence but fortunately, Muro pursued Lili so also Líza joined in… After an hour we fed them in the room so they took a rest there.
16.11.2008
Today we decided to release both lynxes at the same time. In that time we did not know how many kilometers of hard mountain terrain is ahead of us. Approximately for half an hour Muro and Líza occurred close to the cottage in the electric fence. The fence, of course, was small for them so they jumped over it without any problems. Together with Tomáš we observe the lynxes going up and up to the steep slope. Evidently, the lynxes like to be in the forest. They roll in the scats and resting places of deer and roes. The discovered a mud place, ate various grass species as well as ferns. With Tomáš we considered two possibilities. We leave the lynxes in the forest and we will go down to the cottage. When Muro and Líza will be fed up with forest and start to be hungry they will come down to the cottage. After three hours we came up with the alternative no.2. Tomáš went down to the cottage for the dog. He came with Lili in one hour. The lynxes were deep in the forest. I was afraid if they find us, but… When the lynxes saw Lili they started to attack her as in the yard before the cottage. They were no more interested in the forest. Gradually, we started to go nearer to the cottage. It lasted another hour till we came to the edge of the electric fence. Both lynxes entered inside without any problems as if it was not under electricity. We had to carry Lili over it. We called down to Silvia to turn off the electricity in the fence. In short time we demounted it because it is of no use anymore. The lynxes often play by the road from the forest down the slope. When we came to the cottage a short time before sunset, everybody was tired. Muro and Líza entered the cottage and they lay satisfied on the wooden floor. Líza put head on Muro´s back and they fell asleep. The first visit of the forest with lynxes was for me as well as for Tomáš an unbelievable experience. When the lynxes were moving away from the cottage it was not a good feeling. We consoled ourselves that as of yet we are their only support and they must come back. If not today so in the next day. But when the lynxes started to come to the cottage after five hours, for us, it was an unbelievable satisfaction for the hundreds hours of our work. By the road Tomáš took pictures and filmed. Together with Lili I went as first following by two carnivores moving fluently. Who did not experience it can not understand.
And how I remember this first trip deep to the forest?
In to our understanding we were afraid of this all time. However we knew that that moment will arrive. All the way of rearing the lynxes was directed so that the lynxes will come back. When I observed the animals for several hours in the forest I had mixed feelings. For the first two hours they were interested in everything. As the fatigue increased their interest to everything weakened as well. It was a signal for me to start call them from the slope to the valley. Finally it succeeded. Also the animals must have been all amazed. They learned something what they saw only from the cottage and continually they had to evaluate many new sensations. Finally they found that the cottage, its surrounding and their nursers will be their shelter for a longer time.
Miloš, Tomáš
18.11.2008
Today, a rare visit replaced Silvia. Jirka Novák, a zoologist from the ZOO Ostrava arrived to look on “his lynxes”. We were curious to compare Muro and Líza with their siblings living in the ZOO Ostrava with their parents. Jirka stated that “our” lynxes are in good condition and he has a perfect possibility to observe them because in the Zoo they usually hide in the pen. After an evening visit with foresters, a bear ran before my car. He ran before the car for a moment and then it understood that it had to turn to the forest. Perhaps it is the same individual which Miloš saw in the evening from the car and which went to the cottage at the beginning of this project. At night it terrified my sister Veronika a little bit…
19.11.2008
It rains for a whole day. In the evening Vlado Trulík arrived and later also Miloš. The lynxes show off before Jirka and Vlado. They jumped fluently over the table with meals and beverages. They “paid” attention not to break anything but Muro always took some trophy and now he stole us cheese. He did not like it too much because later we found pieces of it ragged in the room. They also do not like a meat-sausage and I am really surprised because we liked it.
20.11.2008
In the morning we woke up a little bit harder. But Vlado cut wood for the winter in the pauses between raining. Vlado, thank you very much! Another rare visit arrived. Lucia Bláhová from Kofola company arrived to close a contract with the brand of mineral water Rajec. I hope that we will see the results of our agreements soon. Also Lucia, thank you very much. Unfortunately it rains still more and more. An almost exemplar mud place is before the cottage. Fortunately Miloš cut wooden rounds so we are not so dirty from the mud at least. Before the evening the rain stopped for a moment so, together with Jirka, we went to the forest above the cottage to find some mushrooms. When me and Miloš tried to force Líza and Muro come back to the cottage I saw several mushrooms… But there was not time to collect them. I found one lurid bolete which I remembered and many unfortunately already unusable bay boletes.
21.11.2008
It is still raining and we are totally dirty from the mud. Today, unfortunately, Jirka departed to Dolný Kubín city to Erika and Miloš… The lynxes want to do nothing, they do not like rain. When they come out to the pen, they are wet and dirty because of the mud so they only lick and lick.