Eurasian lynx pair settle into new home

The Eurasian lynx has a distinctive black tuft at the tip of its ears

A pair of Eurasian lynx have arrived at their new home at Drusillas Park in East Sussex.

The feline brothers, who have just turned two years old, were born at Wild Place Project in Bristol and moved to the zoo in Alfriston last week.

The zoo said the transfer of the pair followed a year of careful planning, including a £250,000 construction project of a custom-built, naturalistic enclosure designed to recreate their native European woodland habitat.

Head keeper Gemma Romanis said: “It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to work with such an incredible species, for many of our team for the first time".

Staff at Drusillas say they have tried to recreate the lynxes' natural environment

“We have been working really hard over the last nine months to ensure everything is perfect for them, from enclosure design to diet plans, enrichment and training programmes, and also chatting at length with their previous keepers and the wider zoo community to really learn how we can guarantee their needs are met.”

The Eurasian lynx is Europe's third largest predator and used to be native to Britain before being eradicated about 1,300 years ago by hunting and loss of habitat.

Visitors to the zoo were able to see the lynx for the first time this weekend

The lynx were transported in boxes from Bristol and released into their enclosure, which cost £250,000 to build