A potential habitat network for the Eurasian Lynx Lynx lynx in Scotland

1. The severe and early destruction and fragmentation of woodland habitats due to human activities is thought to have been a leading factor in the extirpation from Britain of several large, forest-dependent mammal species, such as the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx. However, during the 20th century, Scotland in particular has experienced rapid, large-scale reaffores-tation. In order to assess if this reafforestation has been sufficient to permit the potential restoration of extirpated forest mammal species with large spatial requirements, a Geographi-cal Information System (GIS) analysis of potential habitat of one species, the Eurasian lynx, was performed for the Scottish mainland. 2. A rule-based analysis, incorporating data and expert opinion from Switzerland, an envi-ronmentally similar area where lynx now occur, was used to identify patches of suitable lynx habitat in Scotland. A connectivity analysis was used to investigate whether and how these patches are connected to form larger interconnected networks of potential lynx habitat that would allow lynx to sufficiently interact with one another to form a single interbreeding population