Spain optimistic about the survival of the Iberian Lynx

On Friday (28), with more than a thousand samples recorded last year, the Spanish authorities celebrated that the endangered species of Iberian lynx is moving away from where they disappeared.

The Ministry of Environmental Transformation said in a note that the “demographic curve” of this animal, located in southeast Spain and Portugal, “allows us to be optimistic and to draw scenarios that keep Iberian cats away from the risk of critical disappearance.”

In 2020, the number of registered species increased to 1111, “which is the maximum recorded for the existence of species monitoring programs,” according to the ministry. In 2002, “fewer than 100 copies were counted”.

Iberian lynx

Photo: Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images

“414 births were counted last year” at a time when “all the main population parameters that were considered (total number of lynxes, number of reproductive females, number of pups born) show a positive trend,” the statement said.

However, the Ministry warned that “experts call for caution and insistence on the necessity of continuing efforts and programs, as the species is not far from danger and is still considered legal” threatened with extinction. “

Lynx pardinus falls into the “endangered” category of the IUCN’s “Red List” of endangered species. In 2015, the organization removed species from the “endangered” category, as their population grew after six decades of decline.

The result was achieved mainly thanks to the recovery of rabbit populations, their main prey, illegal traps control, breeding for conservation purposes and reintroduction programs in the territories.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a non-governmental organization, praised the “historical record” of the Iberian lynx, but stated that we “are still far from the goal of saving the species,” which will be achieved when its population exceeds 3,000 or 3,500 specimens, according to a statement.

Lucas Moreno
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