The Spanish or Iberian Lynx (Lynx Pardinus)

The Spanish Lynx or Lynx Iberico is currently one of the most endangered species in the world. It has the distinctly dubious honour of being critically endangered, the highest threat level accorded to any endangered species by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

To give you some idea of the scale of the problem it is believed that, worldwide, only 32 Spanish Lynx cubs were born last year. It is also believed that there are now only around 30 females of breeding age left alive. The entire global population of this beautiful variety of Lynx is thought to be less than 200 animals and is never to be found in groups larger than 50. Fiercely protected in the Natural Parks, it is, regrettably still possible to legally kill these beautiful animals outside the protected zones.

There are 2 species of Lynx indigenous to Spain and Portugal; the most common is the Eurasian Lynx. It is the largest Lynx in both size and habitat. An adult male can weigh up to 27Kg and the animal is dispersed across Europe from Switzerland in the North to below the Atlas Mountains of North Africa in the South. In itself it poses little threat to its much smaller Spanish cousin because they feed at different ends of the food chain. The much smaller male Spanish Lynx (Lynx Pardinus) is only 13-17Kg and is faced with significant problems of habitat loss; however, the most significant problem which they face is lack of food.
Those of you who formerly lived in the United Kingdom, cannot have failed to notice that an animal which exists in the UK in almost plague like proportions does not really exist in Spain at all. That animal being the humble rabbit! Legend has it that a French chemist, fed up with his garden being violated by rabbits imported a rabbit killing disease from Australia. The disease, Mixamitosis, ravaged the rabbit populations of the European mainland. The UK rabbits instinctively felt that the disease spread underground, in the warmth of the burrow networks, so they transferred their lives above ground until the worst of the threat had passed. Spanish rabbits did not modify their behaviour and further fell prey to a form of Pneumonia which cut back their recovering populations. The removal of the rabbit from its habitat effectively sentenced the Spanish Lynx to death by starvation. Dependence on only one food source was a critical factor and it is thought that the Spanish Lynxes’ diet may have been as much as 95% rabbit.

The Lynx is not a greedy animal and one rabbit is enough to feed a family group for a day. Unfortunately, the next smallest animals in the forest, the mongooses and jennets are unlikely to fall prey and the deer are too big for the Lynx to hunt. It was the classic situation of a square peg in a square hole, but now that the rabbits have all gone, and the hole is hexagonal, the Spanish Lynx no longer fits and is slowly starving to extinction. A grim and stark fact and one which is made even the harder to bear when the incredible adaptability of cats is taken into consideration. Amazingly, while other species become extinct every day, the last cat to become extinct was the Sabre-toothed Tiger 10’000 years ago.

The reintroduction of the rabbit is therefore running in parallel to all the efforts to safeguard the Lynx. In an attempt to reintroduce the Spanish Lynx 2 populations of the animal have been taken into captivity. The most important is in the Doñana Natural Park, and here, in the wettest real estate in Spain, near Jerez, the semi-captive Lynx are protected and studied in the hope that a solution to their near extinction can be found. Certain animals have been fitted with radio collars and these are used to monitor movements within the park in an attempt to understand territorial behaviour and trends.

Sadly, this rarest of cats is still killed by cars while crossing roads and worse still it can wander out of areas where it is fiercely protected to areas where it is caught in snares or poisoned. An understanding of the animal’s movements may lead to a more effective containment system and greater protection. Maimed and wounded animals unable to look after themselves but still sexually capable, are nursed and used in the programme as no chance can be lost in this desperate fight! The second population is housed in a recuperative project based in Jerez Zoo where captive breeding is the main aim.
The Red Lynx is also studied at the zoo in the hope that it may reveal some answers for its relative. I recently visited Jerez Zoo and attempted to try and see the Spanish Lynx. The PR director of the zoo was very polite but said she had worked there for quite a few years and she had never been allowed to see them so I had no chance! There are 2 young Lynx males with the heavy burden of repopulating their species. Cromo in Jerez Zoo and Garfio in Donana. The fact that probably all surviving Spanish Lynx have names speaks volumes about how much trouble they are in!

A charity exists to help the Lynx Iberico and it has a website at www.soslynx.org