The census of this emblematic feline reaches 1,365 copies in Spain and Portugal after its population increased by 23%, although it will continue to be classified as endangered
There is no crisis for the Iberian lynxes, luckily unaware (for now!) of the war in Ukraine, the rise in fuel prices and the risk premium: the population in Spain and Portugal of this emblematic feline has reached a new record, with 1,365 registered specimens –including adults, subadults and puppies–, according to the
species monitoring data made public this Friday by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
The good health of these, despite everything, still few wild cats is reflected in a population increase of 23% in the year 2021 with respect to the count of 2020 –1,111 individuals then–. Despite having overcome the most critical situation and recording the best recorded data – two decades ago there were barely a hundred lynx left in the wild – the ‘Lynx pardinus’ is still officially considered in danger of extinction, according to the Spanish Catalog of Endangered Species.
Of the thirteen population centers registered in the Iberian Peninsula in 2021, twelve are located in Spain, with 1,156 individuals, and the other is located in the south of Portugal. Of these twelve Spanish nuclei, five are in Andalusia (with 519 individuals), three in Castilla-La Mancha (473 individuals) and four in Extremadura (164 individuals).
«In this way, Andalusia is once again the Spanish autonomous community that leads the population data, with almost half of the specimens distributed throughout the country. However, the largest population increase is recorded in Castilla-La Mancha, a community in which the population increase is around 45% in a single year, “reports the Miteco.
In Andalusia, the nuclei with the most specimens are those of Andújar-Cardeña (200 individuals) and Guarrizas (164), in Sierra Morena, followed by Doñana-Aljarafe (94), Guadalmellato (44) and Sierra Norte (17). In the case of Castilla-La Mancha, the nucleus of Montes de Toledo (221) stands out, followed by Sierra Morena Oriental (170) and Sierra Morena Occidental (82). In the case of the community of Extremadura, the main nucleus is Matachel (121), followed by Ortigas (20), Valdecañas/Ibores (14) and Valdecigüeñas (9).
Introduction in Lorca
The Region of Murcia also participates in the national strategy for the conservation of the Iberian lynx, focused in this new stage –under the umbrella of the European Union with the Life Lynxconnect project– on the creation of new populations in their historical distribution areas and their connection through natural corridors and the elimination of artificial barriers.
The place chosen to introduce the species in the Autonomous Community is the protected area Sierras del Gigante and Pericay, Lomas del Buitre-Río Luchena and Sierra de la Torrecilla, in the high districts of Lorca, where eight specimens will initially arrive, in February 2023, from the captive breeding program.
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