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The Iberian lynx is considered by IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) to be critically endangered and is the world's most threatened cat species.
Once common throughout the Iberian Peninsula and also into the south of France, there are now estimated to be about 100 remaining Iberian Lynx adults studied in just two isolated breeding populations in southern Spain. There may be individuals or small groups existing in other restricted pockets but these are not considered to be genetically viable due to inbreeding.
The Iberian Lynx prefers habitats of scrubland and open woods bordering onto pastures or clearings. Each has its own individual area but a male may overlap into the territory of several females. A defended territory may vary from 4 to 20 km2 depending on food availability. Other than times of breeding and a female raising her young, they are solitary mammals. They are nocturnal cats who feed almost exclusively on a diet of rabbits, occasionally supplemented with red deer young (Cervus elaphus), fallow deer (Dama dama), European hare (Lepus granatensis), red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa), or ducks, depending on the terrain and scarcity of rabbits.
The coat of the Iberian Lynx is tawny in colour marked with dark spots to varying degrees. They have long legs and a relatively small head with tall black ear tufts and a thickly fringed beard running along the jaw bone.
Their body length is around 82-103 cm, height at the shoulder is between 36-55 cm while the distinctive short tail measures only 14 cm. (Europe has a second Lynx species the Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) which is twice the size and lives in forests in a few parts of Europe and more widely across Asia. Its diet differs in that its prey is mainly deer and hare, supplemented by rabbits.)
A female Iberian Lynx is capable of breeding from the age of one year but this would be rare as firstly she must find a suitable territory. Breeding will normally occur in January with the gestation being approximately two months, the birth of between two to four cubs is normally in March but is also possible later in the summer. The young have their eyes closed for the first 12 days and move around very little. At four weeks they will begin to share the prey brought to the den by the mother and at four months they will learn the skill of hunting. A normal litter will consist of three cubs with the likelihood of one or two surviving to dispersal age, at which point they are in greater danger of running into human threats. They will stay with the mother until she breeds again the following winter, remaining in her territory for a total average of 20 months before dispersing. Iberian Lynx can breed until an age of ten and in favourable circumstances may reach a maximum lifespan of thirteen.
This species has suffered much pressure under the hand of man. Their pelts were sought after for trophies and clothing as well as extensive culling due to their perceived damage to livestock. This decline in their numbers accelerated after 1952 when rabbit populations were decimated by the spread of myxomatosis from France into Spain. (This disease had been introduced by a French Doctor to control rabbit populations on his land.) Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) make up 93% of a Lynx’s diet and so this had a direct effect on their survival, this disease is still prevalent today. The reduction of Mediterranean scrubland was an important factor in restricting their range between 1960 and 1990. At which point a second virus, Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD), had also affected the dwindling rabbit numbers. (RHD reached Spain in 1988). Suitable habitats for the Lynx are still being reduced by expanding human constructions, building of new roads, flooding valleys by building dams and improvements in agricultural methods as well as destruction by summer fires.
Although the Iberian Lynx has been protected legally since 1973 in Spain and 1974 in Portugal accidental killing by using traps, snares and poisoned baits for other predators as well as road kill and illegal hunting have continued to push this species towards extinction. The two remaining breeding populations; Doñana (on the south west coast near Sevilla) and Andújar Natural Park (near Jaén on the northern Andalusia border) are separated by some 300km. The genetic viability of the current populations could be improved by mixing the bloodlines. To do this a male has been trapped from the Andújar area and re-located into the Doñana National Park.
In order for these last populations to expand, improvements have to be made to supply them with sufficient food and suitable habitat. Intensive agriculture and fast roads can form a barrier to their expansion. More environmentally-friendly farming methods need to be encouraged and tunnels beneath roads would allow a multitude of wildlife to pass as well as strict speed restrictions in known Lynx areas. Healthy rabbit populations need to be established in preparation with education and involvement for landowners to prevent further losses through snares, traps, poisoned bait etc.
Research has shown that the Iberian Lynx does not tolerate other carnivores such as fox (Vulpes vulpes), common genet (Genetta genetta) and Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) to share within its territory as they are competition for food - rabbits. These other predators are either killed or driven away. Therefore domestic stock and wild game are more likely to thrive with a Lynx in the area.
In October of 2007 news was released of a further small population of breeding Iberian Lynx in Castilla La Mancha. It is a sparsely populated area of large game reserves. Hopes are high that this will offer further genetic strength to the existing and new breeding programs. The exact location has not been publicly released and scientific researchers will verify whether these are a natural dispersion from the Andújar population.
For further reading the links below discuss the Iberian / Spanish Lynx in detail...
For a profile of the Iberian Lynx. www.animalinfo.org
Excellent information on the life / ecosystem requirements but from 2000 and so not updated to the present critcal numbers. www.carnivoreconservation.org
Nick Lloyd regularly updates this page which includes his own writings as well as linking out to relevent Spanish and English language for news and info. www.iberianature.com
The "Zoo Botanico" in Jerez de la Frontera near Cadiz are involved in the research and breeding program based in the Doñana National Park. www.zoobotanicojerez.com (In Spanish)
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