In the heart of the Gran Paradiso National Park, on the Aosta Valley side, the camera traps recorded an event that smells of hope and a return to wild nature: a lynx was spotted again. This is the third sighting in two years, after those documented in October 2023 and May 2024. The image was captured by the Park Surveillance Corps, engaged in wildlife monitoring of the area.
A predator who returns after a century
The European lynx, elegant and silent, became extinct in the Alps at the beginning of the twentieth century, a victim of human persecution and the reduction of its habitat. Its reappearance, although still sporadic, is an encouraging sign. According to experts, these would be individuals from transalpine populations, who are gradually recolonizing the quieter areas of the Italian mountains.
The Park Authority underlines how rare and difficult it is to document the presence of this feline, known for its extreme elusiveness. Moving silently through woods and rocks, the lynx leaves few traces of its passage, making every sighting a small naturalistic miracle.
The use of technology to protect biodiversity
Thanks to advances in camera trapping and genetic monitoring, park rangers can now follow the movements of this species more closely. These tools allow us to collect fundamental data to understand whether it is the same specimen sighted in the past or a new dispersing individual.
To protect the privacy and safety of the animal, the Park has decided not to disclose the exact location of the sighting. A gesture of respect towards nature and an invitation to let the lynx, with its soft and invisible step, choose if and when to show itself again. In the silence of the Gran Paradiso, the queen of the Alps seems ready to take back her throne.
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