Rehabilitation of injured or immature individuals has become an increasingly used conservation and management tool. However, scientific evaluation of rehabilitations is rare, raising concern about post-release welfare as well as the cost-effectiveness of spending scarce financial resources. Over the past 20 years, events of juvenile Eurasian lynx presumably orphaned have been observed in many European lynx populations. To guide the management of orphaned lynx, we documented survival, rehabilitation and fate after the release and evaluated the potential relevance of lynx orphan rehabilitation for population management and conservation implications. Data on 320 orphaned lynx was collected from 1975 to 2022 from 13 countries and nine populations. The majority of orphaned lynx (55%) were taken to rehabilitation centres or other enclosures. A total of 66 orphans were released back to nature. The portion of rehabilitated lynx who survived at least one year after release was 0.66. Release location was the best predictor for their survival. Of the 66 released lynx, ten have reproduced at least once (8 females and 2 males). Conservation implications of rehabilitation programmes include managing genetic diversity in small, isolated populations and reintroducing species to historical habitats. The lynx is a perfect model species as most reintroduced populations in Central Europe show significantly lower observed heterozygosity than most of the autochthonous populations, indicating that reintroduction bottlenecks, isolation and post-release management have long-term consequences on the genetic composition of populations. The release of translocated orphans could be a valuable contribution to Eurasian lynx conservation in Europe. It is recommended to release orphans at the distribution edge or in the frame of reintroduction projects instead of a release in the core area of a population where it is not necessary from a demographic and genetic point of view. Rehabilitation programmes can have conservation implications that extend far beyond individual welfare benefits.

ALKA Wildlife Dačice Czech Republic

Association for Nature Wolf Twardorzeczka Poland

Association for the Conservation of Biological Diversity Focsani Romania

Bojnice Zoological Garden Bojnice Slovakia

Centre Athenas Wildlife Rescue Center L'étoile France

Department of Ecology and Evolution University of Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland

Department of Nature Protection Šumava National Park Administration Kašperské Hory Czech Republic

Department of Wildlife Management and Nature Protection Karlovac University of Applied Sciences Karlovac Croatia

DIANA Carpathian Wildlife Research Banská Bystrica Slovakia

Environmentally Responsible Action ERA Peja Kosovo

Equipe Loup Lynx Office français de la biodiversité Gières France

Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources Department of Small Animal Science Slovak University of Agriculture Nitra Slovakia

Faculty of Biology Department of Ecology Institute of Functional Biology and Ecology University of Warsaw Biological and Chemical Research Centre Warszawa Poland

Faculty of Biology Department of Zoology and Anthropology Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski Sofia Bulgaria

Faculty of Biology University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia

Faculty of Environmental Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech Republic

Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech Republic

Faculty of Forestry Department of Applied Zoology and Wildlife Management Technical University in Zvolen Zvolen Slovakia

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Department for Game and Wildlife University of Zagreb Zagreb Croatia

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Department Veterinary Biology University of Zagreb Zagreb Croatia

Friends of the Earth Czech Republic Carnivore Conservation Programme Olomouc Czech Republic

Green Heart of Europe Lynx Project Austria Northwest Haslach an der Mühl Austria

Harz National Park Wernigerode Germany

Institute for Forest and Wildlife Management Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Koppang Norway

Kyiv zoological park of national importance Kyiv Ukraine

Latvian State Forest Research Institute ''Silava Salaspils Latvia

Macedonian Ecological Society Skopje North Macedonia

Nationalpark Kalkalpen Molln Austria

Progetto Lince Italia Tarvisio Italy

Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania Tirana Albania

Stiftung KORA Ittigen Switzerland

Stiftung Natur und Umwelt Rheinland Pfalz Mainz Germany

Vetsuisse Faculty Departement of Infectious diseases and Pathobiology Institute for Fish and Wildlife Health University of Bern Bern Switzerland

Wildlife Ecology and Wildlife Management University of Freiburg Freiburg Germany

WildLink Institute Association Lynx Bavaria Waldmünchen Germany

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