No, we are not talking about some dodgy deodorant you got for Christmas - there really are lynx not far from Kalkan.

These pussycats - Eurasian lynx, to be specific, can weigh up to 30kg, and grow up to 1.2 metres in length.

We reckon you can find them no more than an hour's drive away, in the Taurus mountains between here and Elmalı.

Biologists from Sakarya University conducted a survey recently, in which they estimated there to be as many as 17 lynx, in an area of some 320 square kilometres, (in the Çığlıkara Nature Conservation Area).

It is claimed to be the most densely populated area of Eurasian lynx, currently known.

But if this news is making you think twice about your mountain walking hobby, please don't worry.  Lynx are very shy, and you are unlikely to come across them.

And even if you do encounter lynx, you are likely to prove too much of a meal for them - they prefer rabbits.

Below: A lynx, somewhere near Elmalı. Photo by Batur Avgan, a biologist from Sakarya University.  (Copyright acknowledged).

Kalkan Turkish Local News - your window on Kalkan Turkey