Slow return of the Iberian lynx

With its leopard-like spots, Navarro – a male lynx – calls out during mating season as it walks towards a camera trap.

Just under 100 cm (39 in) long and 45 cm tall, the Iberian lynx is a rare sight. But now there are more than 2,000 in the wild in Spain and Portugal, so you're much more likely to see them than 20 years ago.

“The Iberian lynx was very, very close to extinction,” says Rodrigo Serra, who leads the breeding program in Spain and Portugal.

At the lowest point, there were less than 100 lynx left in two non-interacting populations, and only 25 of these were females of reproductive age.

“The only cat species that was threatened at this level was the saber-toothed tiger thousands of years ago.”

The decline in the lynx population is due in part to more and more land being used for agriculture, increasing road deaths and the struggle for food.

Wild rabbits are primary prey for lynx, and two pandemics have led to a 95% decline in their numbers.

Until 2005 there were no lynx left in Portugal, but it was also the year Spain saw its first litter born in captivity.

It took another three years before Portugal decided on a national action plan to protect the species. A national Iberian lynx breeding center has been built in Silves in the Algarve.

Here they are monitored 24 hours a day. The goal is twofold – to prepare them for life in the wild and to pair them for reproduction.

Serra speaks in a whisper because even from a distance of 200m you can stress the animals in the 16 boxes where most of the animals are kept.

Sometimes, though, stress is just what lynxes need.

“When we notice that the litter is getting a little more confident, we go in and chase them and make noise so they get scared again and climb the fences,” says Serra. “We train them not to approach humans in the wild.

This is partly for their own protection, but also to stay away from humans and their animals. “A lynx should be a lynx, not be treated like a house cat.”

So lynx never associate food with humans, they feed through a tunnel system in the center.

Then, when the time is right, they are released into the wild.

Genetics determine where they will end up to reduce the risks of inbreeding or disease. Even if the lynx was born in Portugal, it can be taken to Spain.

Pedro Sarmento is responsible for reintroducing the lynx to Portugal and has studied the Iberian lynx for 30 years.

“As a biologist, there are two things that strike me when I handle lynx. It is an animal with a rather small head for its body and extremely wide paws. This gives them a momentum and ability to jump that is rare.”

The breeding program and the return of the lynxes have been hailed as great successes, but as their numbers grow there can also be problems.

Because lynx are often released on private land in Portugal, the organizers of the breeding program must first reach an agreement with the owners.

Where the animals go next is up to them, and while there have been some attacks on chicken coops, Sarmento says they haven't been many.

“This could cause anxiety among local residents. We fortify the coops so that the lynxes cannot access them, and in some cases we continue to monitor the lynxes and scare them if necessary.'

It tells the story of Lítio, one of the first lynx released in Portugal.

For six months, Litio remained in the same area, but then the team lost track of him.

He eventually headed to Doñana, a national park in southern Spain where he had originally come from.

Because Litio was sick, he was treated and then returned to the breeding team in the Algarve.

A few days after his release from the center, he began to return to Doñana, swimming across the Guadiana River to reach Spain.

He disappeared for a while, but was eventually returned to the Algarve.

When he was released for the third time, Litio did not dare to return to Spain, but instead walked 3 kilometers (two miles), found a female, and never moved again.

“He's the oldest lynx we have here, and he's given birth to a lot of cubs since then,” says Sarmento.

Three decades after Spain decided to save the lynx, the species is no longer endangered and Sarmento hopes it will reach favorable conservation status by 2035.

For this to happen, their number must reach 5000-6000 in nature.

“I've seen species disappear. It's surreal that we're in a place where we can see lynx in the wild or on camera almost every day,” says Sarmento.

The reproduction team is not complacent and there are risks associated with their work. Last year, 80% of lynx deaths occurred on roads.

For now, however, they feel confident that the Iberian lynx has been saved.