Current:Home > ScamsIberian lynx rebounds from brink of extinction, hailed as the "greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved" -Finovate
Iberian lynx rebounds from brink of extinction, hailed as the "greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved"
View
Date:2025-04-12 07:27:40
Things are looking up for the Iberian lynx. Just over two decades ago, the pointy-eared wild cat was on the brink of extinction, but as of Thursday the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it's no longer an endangered species.
Successful conservation efforts mean that the animal, native to Spain and Portugal, is now barely a vulnerable species, according to the latest version of the IUCN Red List.
In 2001, there were only 62 mature Iberian lynx - medium-sized, mottled brown cats with characteristic pointed ears and a pair of beard-like tufts of facial hair - on the Iberian Peninsula. The species' disappearance was closely linked to that of its main prey, the European rabbit, as well as habitat degradation and human activity.
According to WWF, the Iberian lynx will also eat ducks, young deer and partridges if rabbit densities are low. An adult lynx needs about one rabbit a day, but a mother needs to catch about three to feed her young.
Alarms went off and breeding, reintroduction and protection projects were started, as well as efforts to restore habitats like dense woodland, Mediterranean scrublands and pastures. More than two decades later, in 2022, nature reserves in southern Spain and Portugal contained 648 adult specimens. The latest census, from last year, shows that there are more than 2,000 adults and juveniles, the IUCN said.
"It's a really huge success, an exponential increase in the population size," Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the IUCN Red list unit, told The Associated Press.
One of the keys to their recovery has been the attention given to the rabbit population, which had been affected by changes in agricultural production. Their recovery has led to a steady increase in the lynx population, Hilton-Taylor said.
"The greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved through conservation (...) is the result of committed collaboration between public bodies, scientific institutions, NGOs, private companies, and community members including local landowners, farmers, gamekeepers and hunters," Francisco Javier Salcedo Ortiz, who coordinates the EU-funded LIFE Lynx-Connect project, said in a statement.
IUCN has also worked with local communities to raise awareness of the importance of the Iberian lynx in the ecosystem, which helped reduce animal deaths due poaching and roadkill. In 2014, 22 of the animals were killed by vehicles, according to WWF.
In addition, farmers receive compensation if the cats kill any of their livestock, Hilton-Taylor said.
Since 2010, more than 400 Iberian lynx have been reintroduced to parts of Portugal and Spain, and now they occupy at least 3,320 square kilometers, an increase from 449 square kilometers in 2005.
"We have to consider every single thing before releasing a lynx, and every four years or so we revise the protocols," said Ramón Pérez de Ayala, the World Wildlife Fund's Spain species project manager. WWF is one of the NGOs involved in the project.
While the latest Red List update offers hope for other species in the same situation, the lynx isn't out of danger just yet, says Hilton-Taylor.
The biggest uncertainty is what will happens to rabbits, an animal vulnerable to virus outbreaks, as well as other diseases that could be transmitted by domestic animals.
"We also worried about issues with climate change, how the habitat will respond to climate change, especially the increasing impact of fires, as we've seen in the Mediterranean in the last year or two," said Hilton-Taylor.
A 2013 study warned that the Iberian lynx could be extinct within the next 50 years because of the effects of climate change.
Next week, IUCN will release a broader Red List update which serves as a barometer of biodiversity, Reuters reported.
- In:
- Endangered Species
veryGood! (718)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Over 100 masked teens ransack and loot Philadelphia stores leading to several arrests, police say
- Texas family sues mortuary for allegedly dropping body down flight of stairs
- House advances GOP-backed spending bills, but threat of government shutdown remains
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Slaves’ descendants seek a referendum to veto zoning changes they say threaten their Georgia island
- What happens when your secret fiancee becomes your boss? Find out in 'Fair Play'
- Usher says performing during Super Bowl Halftime Show is moment that I've waited my entire life for
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Bahrain rights group says 13 convicted over prison sit-in that authorities say was violent
Ranking
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Zillennials, notorious for work-life balance demands, search for something widely desired
- Zillennials, notorious for work-life balance demands, search for something widely desired
- Breanna Stewart's Liberty even series with Alyssa Thomas' Sun after 'emotional' MVP reveal
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- Screenwriters return to work for first time in nearly five months while actor await new negotiations
- Legendary rocker Paul Rodgers says health crisis nearly silenced his voice: I couldn't speak
- Gisele Bündchen Shares Rare Photo With Her 5 Sisters in Heartfelt Post
Recommendation
Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
Watch: Rare 'Dumbo' octopus seen during a deep-sea expedition
Ohio wants to resume enforcing its abortion law. Justices are weighing the legal arguments
Alabama woman charged with murder nearly a decade after hit-and-run victim went missing
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Takeaways from AP report on Maui fire investigation
Deion Sanders’ impact at Colorado raises hopes other Black coaches will get opportunities
Why Julia Fox's Upcoming Memoir Won't Include Sex With Kanye West