Tõnu Talvi, the Environmental Board's (Keskkonnaamet) chief nature conservation specialist, told Friday's "Terevision" a lynx in the city is a "clear sign" of spring. He said male lynxes will be moving around more to mark their territory, while the females have a smaller area.

Recently, the famously shy creatures have been seen in the suburbs, for example in Tartu's Raadi district. 

"Yes, we call it a town in terms of the boundaries, but the lynx probably thinks of it as its recent and possibly current home territory, Talvi said. 

The big cat's prey can be found in areas close to cities and is not always disturbed by human activity.

Talvi said there is no need to be scared if you see or hear a lynx, instead you should feel happy.

"The lynx is very cautious and it is quite a rarity to see him in the wild," he added. 

The expert said the animals show little interest in humans, but it is best to view them from a distance.

Young, male bears on the move

The first bears waking up from hibernation have been spotted by trail cameras.

These will most likely be fathers and young animals Talvi, said. It is still deemed too risk for female bears who gave birth at the start of the year to start moving around. The cubs are also too small to eat anything other than their mother's milk, and do not need to venture outside.

As soon as bears wake up, they start looking for food.

"Understandably, there may not be a lot of food in early spring and late winter. There are carrion and scavengers, but there are not many berries and plant foods. So the bear may be interested in a wider area when searching for food," Talvi said.

While bears often hibernate close to human settlements, it is likely they will not be seen.

"Predominantly they are twilight and nocturnal animals. Our activity times just do not coincide," he explained. 

Sometimes there can be conflict over beehives close to a house, but bears view humans as threats to be avoided, Talvi said.

While some people have suggested spring arrived early this year, Talvi did not agree. He said it was average, maybe even later than usual.

"If we look at the phenological signs, the beginning of the common hepatica blooming or the arrival of migratory birds, the first birds are there: marsh cranes, plovers, sandpipers and gulls. However, we do not have any special arrivals yet," he said.

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