Lynx (2021) Movie Script

Exterminated in the 19th century,
Lynx lynx had disappeared from Western Europe
50 years ago, it was reintroduced in the Jura mountains
However, the Lynx remains an endangered species
He gave back the spirit of the savage to the buried forest
I was a kid when I learned
the return of the lynx in the Jura.
This news made me dream.
I imagined myself looking for him,
hide and observe it.
Just installed
in these mountains,
I walked the ridges
and the valleys
in search of the feline.
It's been years now
let me track it
and i start
just understanding life
of one of the animals
the most discreet in Europe.
Everything starts
during the love season.
Calls of the male lynx
It's been several days
that I am the trace of this male,
he keeps calling.
In this season,
Lynx are said to sing.
The rutting season
is almost over
and given the size of its territory,
it is not certain
that he finds his female.
Calls of the male lynx
The female lynx responds.
Male and female lynx calls
What an incredible encounter!
Observe these solitary animals
and so discreet together
for a few moments...
Their territory is so vast
that they will not meet
maybe not for months.
Leaves quiver.
Before the return of the lynx,
the forest was no longer renewed.
Chamois and deer
gathered together
to eat the young shoots,
stunting tree growth.
This is why foresters
wanted the return of the feline:
replace the essential role
of the predator in our undergrowth
so that it regulates herbivores.
In the mountains
where the lynx roams,
the forest has regained its spirit.
calls of the lynx
Even if he does not take
what he needs,
see the lynx i know
withdraw life
reminds me that nature
is not just a wonderful setting
populated by adorable creatures.
The stakes of life and death
are present everywhere.
At the beginning of spring,
the valley shines.
Herds of herbivores
have dispersed
and young buds
grow vigorously.
grouse,
capercaillie,
rodents and owls,
everyone benefits from it.
To be able to observe them,
I melt
my turn in the forest
to become invisible.
I play hide and seek
with these timid creatures.
The lynx is fine
the master of this game
and i never know
when I see him again.
The bushes
of service tree, of hazel tree,
beech and honeysuckle
are impenetrable in the spring.
I have a crazy pain
find the female
and it's almost by chance
I come across her.
Seeing her rounded belly,
I understand that it is not
a meal she seeks,
but a lair
to put it down.
As I haven't seen the lynx
since two months,
I'm waiting
near its prey.
Each day,
I await its appearance.
It whistles in the chamois.
It's the alarm.
Chamois hissing
The male is not there by chance.
He comes
for the birth of goats.
It ensures natural selection.
The least attentive
the least adapted, the sick
will be the first
to get chewed up.
He knows perfectly
his territory.
The habits of its prey
recesses for ambushes,
rest areas. He knows
decipher if a new smell
is that of a prey
or that of an intruder.
Even more unreachable
in the rock faces,
I discover
another predator.
Falcon's Cry
If the forest
is the domain of the lynx,
the sky is the one
of the peregrine falcon.
He almost disappeared too,
but he's protected now
and come back to nest
in the cliffs.
I explore all the valleys
and I find myself at the foot
of the tallest tree
of the Jura.
This tree,
several hundred years old,
it's quite a story.
He witnessed
the destruction of the forest,
of his rebirth
and the return of the first lynx.
And it's not far from there
I make my greatest discovery.
Little cry of the baby lynx
Human screams
Even if the lynxes share
easily the forest
with humans,
mother's maternal instinct
pushes her to change lair
if proximity becomes risky.
Foresters talks
Foresters
didn't notice anything,
focused on their hammering.
Here fir trees, spruces,
maple, ash
are monitored, selected.
They save
old dead trees
Who serves
habitat or food
to wildlife.
They take
the most beautiful trunks and leaves
an irregular high forest
to allow
to life to prosper.
We call that
"a gardened forest".
The humans left,
danger still looms.
Like me,
the vixen watches
the slightest sign of the lynx.
For her,
It's a question of survival.
Since the birth of the babies,
mother can't walk away
from his new lair.
This reduces
his hunting territory.
Roe deer and chamois
got used to his presence,
they are becoming
difficult to surprise.
But the mother is experienced.
It's the first time
that I manage to see again
the mother with her kittens
from
that they have left their lair.
At 2 months, they are
now able to follow
and discover new smells,
new sounds
and new tastes.
The mother is attentive
to the little female
more independent
who explores the surroundings.
The two small males, them,
only think about playing.
It's the father.
I had never seen them
all together.
I wonder how much
the male plays a role
in the protection of children.
I get to know
the male: his habits,
its regular visits.
Now I'm coming
to see him once a month
at strategic locations.
He patrols to control
the limits of his domain.
He knows some
the smallest details.
trunks
where he scratches,
the barks
where he rubs his cheeks,
strains
where?it marks its territory.
I realize that this forest path
that I took
a thousand times
marks an invisible boundary.
A barrier of odors
than the male
watch carefully.
It's the one-eyed man,
the nearby lynx.
He comes regularly
control this border,
check if the places
are always busy.
Intriguing music
The smell is fresh
and it would be dangerous
to venture further.
Losing his second eye
would be fatal to him.
But I know the pressure remains
strong for the father of the kittens.
In autumn,
I explore the wooded meadows.
humus and humidity
fill the nostrils
goats in heat.
I haven't seen
lynx for 3 months,
but these very excited buffs
and distracted
are easy targets
for the predator.
The nervousness of goats attracts
my attention.
It's the male
but he is not hunting.
The day before,
he will have taken advantage of the second
carelessness of this big goat
too much in love.
Nothing will be wasted.
It will take several days
to consume such a feast.
Then he will go hunting elsewhere
to be forgotten.
Distant Rumble
The kittens have already grown well.
The mother leaves them alone
more often
to go hunting.
Chain saw
The lynxes are
mainly nocturnal
and that's all
part of their life
which escapes me.
The owl hoots.
At night the noises are
just as mysterious
than silence.
The owl screams.
disturbing music
Distant gunshot
melancholic music
call of the lynx
The young male was only 5 months old.
The poacher
who shot him knew
that he risked a heavy sentence
by shooting a protected species.
That's why
that he abandoned her.
In the heart of winter,
the mother seems to repeat
of attention for her 2 little ones.
By following them, I guess
each person's personality.
I dare not project
human feelings,
but difficult
not to see the curious girl,
the more fearful young male,
the mother, attentive and calm.
The male watches
more regularly
the bottom of its valley.
After the one-eyed lynx,
a new intruder is on the prowl.
It seems more and more
common in recent weeks.
The new territories
become rare.
Around the Jura, the environments
favorable to lynx are distant
and difficult to access
natural passages for
join them almost non-existent.
The male must redouble his efforts
to keep his territory.
My passion asks me
great moments of waiting
and months of frustration.
But remaining
often offers me
unexpected shows.
In the middle of winter,
lynx territories
redesign themselves.
The love season is approaching.
The males
come out of their domains
to conquer the females.
Over time,
I get attached to these lynxes
and every time
that I find the male,
I feel reassured
he could keep
his territory.
What resilience to live
in such a difficult environment!
An animal cries.
It is a cry of alarm.
Eyes watch
between branches and trunks.
From squirrel to jay,
from fox to deer,
solidarity between species
expands
when the predator is on the prowl.
The quest for the lynx
takes me far beyond
of my childhood dream.
It's a different world from mine,
but I discover
common points :
The strategy,
diplomacy, alliance.
This form of intelligence
is difficult to perceive
and only reveals itself to the rhythm
a walk,
waiting, perseverance.
The snow will soon
to disappear
and soon I won't be able to
find fingerprints.
I | I will need
look for other clues.
The remains of this deer
allowed me to find
the mother. I knew
that she would come and pick it up.
Fox Cry
They have grown well.
independence time
approach for young people.
Their mother does not let them anymore
feed first.
She becomes less patient,
less tolerant with them.
I feel a certain shyness
in their first mops.
It's a pivotal time
for them.
They discover
these new landscapes
that they will soon have to cross
to emancipate.
Fox Cry
Find your new place
life is not easy
in these fragmented lands.
Is the territory
lynxes which is crossed
by the roads
or the roads that cross
lynx territory?
The second brother
was only 7 months old.
calls of the lynx
Over the seasons,
I learned to recognize
each individual by his traces,
his voice,
his spots or his character.
These last months,
I noticed the attachment
that the mother bears to her young.
Not the slightest trace of the father
since weeks.
I wonder
if he is still alive
or if he got kicked out.
The mother lingers
on the marking areas,
as if she detected
a new smell.
Long growl of the lynx
What an impressive cry!
I had never heard before
the mother hiss like that.
I wonder
if she knows this male
or if she meets him
for the first time ?
The curious young person approaches
like getting to know each other.
I do not understand
to this situation.
I still have a lot left
to discover on the feline.
Scientific friends are looking
also to understand the life of the lynx.
Tonight they found prey
in the territory of the female.
Around the dead deer,
they stretch cables
that they hide
under snow and leaves.
When the mother
returns to its prey,
she does not see the trap
which they handed to him.
Asleep,
his state of health checked,
biologists teach me
that she will be released several times
hundreds of kilometers.
She will participate in the rebirth
of a new population,
as before
his ancestors in the Jura.
In Western Europe, lynx
reproduce among themselves,
what is dramatic
for the survival of the species.
Inbreeding is a danger
without gun or road,
but which probably constitutes
the greatest of all.
Scientists want to remedy
to a difficult situation,
but their relationship to the lynxes
is different from mine
and I'm confused
when I see the female leave
which I followed for a year.
The young female
finds himself alone at 8 months
and I wonder
if she will survive
dans ces montagnes trop hautes,
ses fors trop vastes,
this too deep valley.
I resume my research,
but I can't find any trace
of the young female.
And then, at the end of winter,
she appears as if by surprise.
She got away with it.
Now,
she must find a forest.
His forest.
But the great masses
are split,
the inhabited valleys
by a species without embarrassment.
His quest for territory
pushes her to cross
dangerous areas.
Now
that she has changed valleys,
I no longer know where to look for it.
I don't know his habits.
Randomly
from a chamois approach,
I find her briefly.
She always seems
in search of territory.
His choice is not easy.
He needs a domain
with prey, refuge areas
and without the presence
from another female.
Now,
I am looking for the young female
in places
less frequented.
So I fall
on a rare sight.
A brood of grouse
which has just hatched.
Roe deer cry
For 8 months,
I have not seen
the shadow of the female.
I expand my research
near homes.
And there...
She has changed a lot.
She lost
his youthful figure
to transform
into a splendid predator.
She found herself a territory
which is full of deer.
She is finally home.
Driven by neighboring lynxes,
she chose a domain
located at the edge
from that of humans.
And for now,
she doesn't seem to mind.
I don't know if these walkers
realize how lucky they are
to come across an animal
so difficult to observe.
How beautiful it is to know that a
predator lurks in our forests.
whatever
if you hardly ever see him,
his presence restores
the hope of a cohabitation
possible
between humans and nature.
Since a few weeks,
I notice
new tracks in the snow.
A very discreet young male
roams the region.
call of the lynx
How frustrating!
I hear the male for several
days in an inaccessible valley
and the female disappears
to calls
without me being able to follow her.
Lynx are doing well
their nickname "ghost of the woods".
The period of love
is almost finished,
I have never seen the male before
and I lost the female
since more than a month.
And then, one fine April evening,
here it is finally.
This new suitor
who made me cringe
so many weeks
without ever observing it.
His youth sweats
in his behavior,
but he already has
the charisma of his species.
It's funny to me to see
the young female with this male.
She got away
where so many other lynxes fail.
I followed her
for almost two years.
And for a brief moment,
I have the impression
that she knew.
I never saw the father again.
The last time
that I saw the female,
it was an evening in August.
I'm thinking back
to this handful of enthusiasts
who made me dream
when I was a child.
These vanguards
who by releasing lynxes
have been able to re-establish a balance
between prey and predators
so that the whole forest
takes advantage.
A simple and natural solution
which proves to us
that it's never too late
to rectify past mistakes.
Without them,
this story
would not have taken place.