Lynx let go in Cairngorms were starving, says zoo

Four lynx illegally released into the Cairngorms showed signs of starvation, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has said.

One of the wild cats died after its capture near Kingussie late last week and experts are awaiting results of a post-mortem examination.

The other three lynx are being cared for at Edinburgh Zoo.

Police Scotland is investigating the incident which saw two of the lynx caught on Thursday and two more on Friday.

RZSS said two of the cats had eaten meat left from them in traps set to capture them, but no other food while they had been on the loose.

The area around Kingussie where the four were captured is still being monitored, but the society said it was "reasonably confident" there were no more still at large.

The cats have been confirmed as Eurasian lynx, the largest of four species of the animals.

Lynx were once native to Britain but were wiped out hundreds of years ago due to habitat loss and hunting.

A number of conservation groups support a licensed reintroduction of the cats to Scotland in the near future.