Spain and Portugal now have over 2,000 Iberian lynx, and the population is growing steadily, rising from 1,111 three years ago. In 2002, there were as few as 100 to be found in the wild.
The pointy-eared and long-legged feline’s return started from a captive breeding program started in 2011, which released 372 captive-born lynx into the wild. Last year, 722 were born in the wild, and the species has been moved from the ‘critically endangered’ list to ‘endangered.’
The decline of the lynx has been attributed to a combination of poaching, road kill, habitat loss and a disease-caused sharp decline in rabbits, the lynx’s favorite prey.
