CONSERVING THE IBERIAN LYNX
WWW.CBD-HABITAT.COM
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Thanks to the extensive efforts of CBD-Hábitat, in partnership with public and non-profit organisations, a breeding programme across Spain and Portugal has enabled lynx numbers to exceed 1,600 today across a growing number of connected subpopulations. TENT supports CBD-Hábitat in their work to conserve the Iberian lynx, improving their genetic diversity, mitigating threats such as habitat loss and road collisions, while raising national and international awareness of the role and iconic value of the species to rural Spain.
Twenty years ago the Iberian lynx was the world’s most endangered felid with less than 100 animals remaining in the Sierra Morena and Doñana National Park. Two outbreaks of rabbit disease had decimated their natural prey, while habitat loss and fragmentation had caused populations of lynx to become isolated, leading to a decline in their genetic health. The Spanish foundation CBD-Hábitat focuses on conserving iconic species such as the Iberian lynx, imperial eagle and black vulture.
The translocation of lynxes is helping to form functional populations across their historic Iberian range.
Dehesa landscapes – wild grassland dotted with trees – is now the lynx’s ideal habitat.
With the return of lynx, ecotourism has flourished in southern Spain.
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