How to reintroduce the lynx to the UK?

Is the UK ready for the lynx? No one can answer this question with certainty. However, experience shows that, rather than a top-down approach – decisions from above applied without consulting local populations – it will be more constructive to reflect in collaboration with local communities on what needs to be put in place in order to that the Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) can inhabit the United Kingdom. Lynx became extinct in the UK over 1300 years ago, bears and wolves followed soon after. This means that the present UK population have no experience of what it is like to live with large predators in their landscape. It is difficult to know the full impact this has had, together with a general decline in wild places, on British culture or psyches. Research indicates that long-term coexistence with predators and interaction with wild nature can positively effect creativity, adaptability, tolerance and awareness of the inter-dependencies between humans and other species, but more research is required in different contexts.