Although it has few predators (apart from brown bears and wolves), the French lynx population is very vulnerable due to its small number and its fragmentation. In addition to the natural mortality of the species - whose maximum longevity is about fifteen years - the human-caused mortality (road and rail collisions, poaching) is detrimental to the survival of the populations. In addition, the fragmentation of the forest habitats by urbanized areas and their infrastructures (roads, railways, canals) reduces the possibilities of dispersal, and therefore of exchange of individuals, and ultimately leads to a genetic weakening of a reintroduced population already resulting from a small number of founders.