Once on the verge of extinction, the Iberian lynx is making a dramatic comeback, according to a recent update by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In 2002, the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), a spotted medium-sized cat with pointy ears and a face framed by a beard, was down to an estimated 62 mature individuals. The lynx was then listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, the global list of threatened species. But in just over 20 years, the wildcat has made a “dramatic recovery,” the IUCN update notes. Today, there are over 2,000 adult and young Iberian lynx across Spain and Portugal and the species’ status has been down listed to vulnerable.
“These are excellent news for the species and a great satisfaction for all the people involved in its conservation,” José A. Godoy, a researcher at Doñana Biological Station of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) told Mongabay in an email.
The Iberian lynx was once widespread across southwestern Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, mainland Spain and Portugal. However, researchers estimate that during the second half of the 20th century, the lynx population crashed to its lowest, just 62 mature individuals.
At that time, the species was declared a vermin and thousands of individuals were killed. Their primary prey species, the endangered European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) was also deemed vermin, and a viral disease called myxomatosis was introduced to reduce their numbers. The disease wiped out the rabbits, and the lynx populations plummeted as a consequence. Much of the lynx’s preferred scrub and forest habitats also suffered from destruction, degradation and fragmentation.
Over the past 20 years, though, a series of conservation actions have turned the tide for the Iberian lynx. These efforts include increasing the numbers of European rabbits, protecting and restoring the lynx’s habitat, as well as reducing the wild cat’s deaths due to human activities like hunting, snaring and vehicular collisions. To boost lynx numbers, both Spain and Portugal have also translocated wild individuals to different areas and reintroduced animals from captive-breeding facilities.
However, the Iberian lynx isn’t entirely out of the woods yet.
José Godoy, who also coordinates the genetic monitoring and management of the Iberian lynx under the transnational LIFE Lynxconnect project, said that in the short term, existing population numbers still need to be boosted, while additional subpopulations need to be established through reintroductions.
It’s also essential to ensure that the European rabbit populations continue to be monitored and managed, João Alves, a scientist at the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (INCF) in Portugal, told Mongabay in an email.
Finally, efforts to listen to the local communities and involve them in lynx conservation should continue, Margarida Lopes Fernandes of INCF, told Mongabay in an email.
“The experience of nature and complex landscapes where wild predators inhabit are a richness for all,” Fernandes said. “Residents of lynx areas have to be recognized for being guardians of these habitats.”
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