The Iberian lynx, once the world’s most endangered cat, has made a remarkable recovery from the brink of extinction, thanks to extensive and coordinated conservation efforts in Spain and Portugal, The Associated Press reported.
In the early 2000s, the population of the lynx, scientific name Lynx pardinus, had dwindled to 62 mature individuals in the wild. Habitat loss, a precipitous decline in the population of European rabbits, their primary prey, from disease, and expanding human activity, particularly the building of highways through their habitat, which led to many lynx ending up as roadkill, contributed to their “critically endangered” status.
Last week, however, the International Union for Conservation of Nature moved the animal from “endangered” to “vulnerable” in the latest version of its Red List. A census in 2020 showed that by the end of the year, there were 1,111 Iberian lynx living across Spain and Portugal, including 239 breeding females, and 414 cubs born that year alone. The latest census, conducted in 2023, put the animal’s population at over 2,000, including nearly 700 mature individuals.
“The greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved through conservation, this success is the result of committed collaboration between public bodies, scientific institutions, NGOs [non-governmental organizations], private companies, and community members, including local landowners, farmers, gamekeepers and hunters, and the financial and logistical support of the European Union LIFE project,” said Francisco Javier Salcedo Ortiz, coordinator of the LIFE Lynx-Connect project, which led the conservation action for the Iberian lynx.
The turnaround began with the implementation of a programme that focused on captive breeding and reintroduction as well as on habitat protection. The initiative was supported by over 20 organizations, with significant funding from the European Union and the government of Spain.
Captive breeding centres in Spain and Portugal played a crucial role, with nearly 500 lynx being born in captivity since the programme began. The centres ensured genetic diversity by distributing lynxes across different locations. Once reintroduced into the wild, the survival rate of the captive-bred lynxes exceeded expectations and led to the establishment of several new populations across Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, and southern Portugal. The pointy-eared, medium-sized, mottled brown cats with the fluffy beards now occupy an area of at least 3,320 sq km, up nearly eight times from 449 sq km in 2005. Some have even been spotted on the outskirts of Barcelona, according to reports.
“It’s really a huge success, an exponential increase in the population size,” Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the IUCN Red List unit, told The Associated Press. One of the keys to their recovery has been the attention given to the rabbit population, which had been affected by disease and changes in agricultural production. Their recovery has led to a steady increase in the lynx population, Hilton-Taylor said.
However, the Iberian lynx remains threatened, mainly by potential fluctuations of the rabbit population in case of fresh virus outbreaks, the IUCN said. The lynx is also susceptible to diseases from domestic cats. Poaching and roadkill remain threats, particularly where high-traffic roads cut through the lynx’s habitat. Habitat alterations related to climate change are a new and growing threat.
To be removed entirely from the Red List, the Iberian lynx will need to reach a stable population of over 3,000 individuals, including 750 breeding females, according to the World Wildlife Fund, something experts say could be achieved by 2040.
