The Iberian lynx is one of the most endangered species in the world. Despite conservation efforts the fact is that the cat populations continue to decline alarmingly.
For decades Portugal and Spain have initiated efforts to preserve one of the world's rarest cats, the Iberian lynx. A battle with ups and downs due to high mortality of this rare specimen in captivity and the decrease of its natural territory rampant in the last century. Since it was launched a decade ago the breeding program has produced a total of 92 animals and 26 offspring were born more recently. In the wild there are only 200 wild cats of this elusive species in the Doñana Natural Park in Catalonia.
The conservation effort has recently gained a new lease with the injection of 34 million EUR from the Life + program, established by the European Commission to bring back into the old areas of scrub breeding populations of Iberian lynx. The Iberlince project aims to recover the historical distribution of these specimens in the regions of Catalonia, Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura and Portugal. An investment that will allow to channel the efforts of two countries in a single concrete goal that is the reenter of the lynx pardinus (scientific name) in self-supporting areas through actions large enough to increase the carrying capacity of the territories for the wild felines. Our country will implement a detailed program later this year, through actions that will cost around 3.6 million euros. The idea is to create a corridor between the existing populations in Spain and Portugal in favorable territories for the lynx. What is still further to achieve is the recovery of rabbit populations, a species greatly affected by the diseases myxomatosis and viral haemorrhagic fever and that is the main power source of food of this rare cats that are expected to populate the new Iberian territories.
