Encounter with lynx cub leads to unusual friendship in Sivas village

Birol Doğan, a resident of the village of Küplüce in Sivas, had an unexpected encounter two days ago when he went into the forest to collect firewood. He came across a lynx cub that he initially mistook for a kitten. The lynx, presumed to have lost its mother, followed Doğan all the way back to the village.

According to a report by Anadolu Agency (AA), Doğan's mother, Hacer Doğan, sent a photograph to her son in İstanbul after realizing that the animal he had sent her a picture of was, in fact, a lynx. She had been feeding the lynx with milk and chicken meat for two days.

Upon receiving information about the lynx, teams from the Nature Conservation and National Parks Sivas Branch arrived in the village to protect the lynx.

Hacer Doğan, who had never seen a lynx before, said:

"Its back looks just like a lion's. When I first saw it, I was very surprised and couldn't let it go. I fed it with milk and chicken for two days. I loved it, kissed it. I'm very sad that it will have to leave."

The lynx cub will be kept under protection at a rehabilitation center for a while and will later be released back into its natural habitat.

Turkey is home to various subspecies of lynx. The lynx species found in Turkey includes the Caracal lynx (Caracal caracal), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), and Anatolian lynx (Lynx lynx dinniki). They mainly inhabit the regions of the Black Sea, Eastern Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia, and the Mediterranean.

While lynxes are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the lynx population in Turkey is at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, hunting, and illegal trade. (TY/VK)