O. Gy. Dely szerk.: Vertebrata Hungarica 22. (Budapest, 1984)

Demeter, A.: Recent records of rare or non-residental large carniovores in Hungary 65-72. o.

the same volume (KRATOCHVIL 1968b), he concluded that there was no recent evidence for its occurrence in this country. FESTETICS (1981) corrected this mistake and did not include Hungary in the 1960 distribution of the lynx in Europe. In 1980 tracks of a large cat, then unrecognized, were seen around Háromhuta, and then In the spring of 1981 the specimen presented to the HNHM was obtained. It Is a light-col ou red individual, a subadult male whose measurements are In correspondence with those of the Slovak populations (MATJUSCHKIN 1978, STUBBE 1982b). Later, In the autumn of 1981 a shepherd reported seeing two lynxes and In October that year Ádám FARKAS, the collector of the specimen of the previous year, again clearly observed an animal at some length, this time a fully grown Individual. More recently, there Is an unconfirmed report of a lynx kitten found dead in the same area at the end of 1983. The lynx seems also to have established Itself as breeding In the Zemplén Mts. The habitat at this site seems to be quite favourable for the lynx, as because of the very rugged terrain there is hardly any sylvlcultural management and the rocky outcrops and rock ledges contain many cavelets and crevices suitable for shelter. Ungulates such as roe deer, red deer and wild boar are reasonable plentiful, or at least had been so till 1983, when roe deer decreased but red deer significantly increased in number. There Is relatively low hunting pressure on the game populations. There are further unconfirmed sightings of lynx from the Pills Mts, north-northwest of Budapest. The problem with these sightings is that If there is indeed lynx resident in the area, it is difficult to imagine how it crossed the Danube on Its way southward from Czechslovakla. Lynxes have recently been re-Introduced In Austria and the Slovak population Is expanding westwards (FESTETICS 1981), yet it Is unlikely that any animal of this size could have penetrated into Hungary as far from the western border as the Danube Bend without being detected and reported whilst traversing the intervening country. DISCUSSION The shooting of the bear in the spring of 1983 resulted in a great public outcry and in increased anti-hunting sentiments among the public. The report of the shooting of the jackal only aggrevated these feelings. The press and activists of various special-interest groups exerted considerable pressure on the goverment to extend protection to non-resident mammals such as the carnivores discussed in this paper. This action was especially expedient as other species of carnivores, with the exception of the fox and the common polecat, are protected by law as from 1971. The new hunting regulation Issued by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture In effect from 1 July, 1983 specifies that permit must be obtained from the game authorities In beforehand to bag any species belonging to the non-resident category of game, and only In justified cases would such a permit be granted. in spite of the recent conservation measures introduced, there Is little hope for the establishment of resident populations of large carnivores. The two wolves shot in the Zemplén Mts were killed after the new hunting regulation had taken effect and so far without any jurisdictional consequences to the hunters. The National Environmental and Nature Conservation Authority has not as yet made any steps with the aim of pursuing active protection measures. Hungary is simply too densely populated to harbour any brown bears and wolves, even the existing national parks are not suited for that purpose. Jackals, and also wolves are easily mistaken for feral dogs and therefore, because of the regular culling of the large number stray dogs, they are most vulnerable to hunting. The racoon-dog will no doubt be Increasing Its numbers, but whether It receives legal protection or not, hunters will not welcome its presence. As regards the lynx, there seems to be suitable habitat for this species only In the northeastern corner of the country, where measures should be taken to assist the settlement of further Individuals penetrating from Czechslovakia, and adequate protection should be given to the animals resident. The experiences obtained with the re-introduction programmes in western Europe and Yugoslavia (FESTETICS 1981) could help the conservation authorities in planning such a scheme. PLATE II, Photos of A - wolf (HNHM 84.1.1.), B - racoon-dog (HNHM 83.13.1) and C - lynx (HNHM 84.19.1) skulls recently obtained in Hungary