The Iberian lynx (Lynx Pardinus) is a wild cat found on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, and more specifically here in Spain. The Iberian lynx remains the most endangered feline in the world.
Their numbers were decimated by rapid habitat loss, with scrublands converted to agriculture and pine and eucalyptus plantations. Human development such as dams, highways and railways also encroached on their native habitat.
The Iberian lynx is one of the most elusive species in the world, in fact very few people have ever seen an Iberian lynx in the wild.
Half a century ago, the Iberian Peninsula, comprising Spain and Portugal, was home to thousands of Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus). The species is about half the size of the more common Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) found in cooler climates further north, but shared the same bad reputation for preying on livestock. That made it a favorite target of farmers, who saw it as vermin, as well as hunters who sought out its pelt and meat, or mounted it as a trophy.
These cats prefer areas of native Mediterranean woodlands with native oaks and abundant undergrowth. More than 90% of daytime rest sites are in thick heather scrub. They move along the edges of meadows and more open grassland areas, especially around dusk and dawn, to hunt their main prey species, the European rabbit. Adult lynx require one rabbit per day, but females with kittens need three each day. 75-93% of their diet in Donana National Park is the European rabbit. Only when the rabbit population crashes due to viral outbreaks, do they look to other prey such as small rodents, birds, and the young of wild boar, red deer, fallow deer, and wild sheep. Leaves, soil and other debris are scraped over large kills to be consumed later.
Iberian Lynx Lynx pardinus have a coat colour of yellowish to reddish-brown, patterned with many dark brown or black spots of varying size. There are three distinct individual coat patterns, and the belly fur is lightly coloured. They have the typical look of the lynx species, with a small head, flared facial ruff, long legs, dark ear tufts, and a very short, dark tipped tail. The facial ruff of adults is more distinct than that of other adult lynx species.
The Iberian lynx lives in Mediterranean forests composed of native oaks and abundant undergrowth and thickets. It favours a mixture of dense scrub for shelter and open pasture for hunting. They are usually absent from cropland and exotic tree plantations (eucalyptus and pine) where rabbits are also scarce. In the Doñana National Park, the majority of resting spots of lynx during the day were located in thick heather scrub. Suitable breeding dens and water are important habitat features for the Iberian lynx.
They are only about half the size of the Eurasian Lynx Lynx lynx. Males average about 27% larger than females. They are closer in size to the Canadian Lynx Lynx canadensis and the Bobcat Lynx rufus.
Iberian Lynx show a great deal of seasonal and individual variation in activity levels. In summer they are nocturnal and crepuscular but in winter they are active during the daylight hours. Their overall activity patterns are closely synchronized with that of the rabbits.
Closely related to the Eurasian Lynx, their ranges used to meet at the Spanish-French border along the Pyrenees Mountains. More recently, the range of the Iberian Lynx has significantly contracted, and now consists of a series of small islands of suitable natural habitat, such as national parks and reserves.
Females with their own territory are able to breed at two years of age, but independent kittens often remain in their mother’s territory until 20 months of age. Kittens are eating solid food by 28 days but will nurse for 3-4 months becoming independent around 10 months of age. Males and females usually don’t breed until they acquire their own territory, and they may have to wait until a resident animal dies, or moves on. Iberian Lynx have lived to 13 years of age in the wild.
The Iberian lynx suffers from a wide range of threats: habitat destruction and alteration due to industrial development, conversion of native Mediterranean forest to plantations with no undergrowth, direct persecution, killed by automobiles, caught illegally or hunted with dogs, killed in traps set for other predators.
Climate projections show regions in the south of the Iberian Peninsula where the lynx currently occurs may no longer be suitable for the species.
While losing their habitat, humans were also over-hunting the cats main prey species, the European rabbit. When a disease called myxomatosis struck the remaining rabbits, the cat population dropped dramatically.
The disappearance of the European rabbit from much of its historical range, due to epidemics of myxomatosis and rabbit hemorrhagic disease, was another of the factors that drove the decline of the Iberian lynx. Myxomatosis, a viral disease from South America, was intentionally introduced into France in the 1950s to control populations of wild rabbit, which were considered vermin by farmers. The virus then spread southwest through the Iberian Peninsula, decimating the rabbit populations there, and with them, the lynx.
The Iberian, or Spanish, Lynx is currently one of the most endangered wild cat species in the world. Between 1985 and 2001, their range declined by 87% and the number of breeding females dropped by more than 90%. By 2000, they existed in two small populations: 70-80 cats in the south of Andalusia and 170-180 individuals in the Sierra Morena.
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