iber-lynx75

endangered cats

  • HB Length: 68-82 cm (27-32″)
  • Tail Length: 12.5-15 cm (5-6″)
  • Height: Appr. 60 cm (24″)
  • Weight: 7-10 kg (15-22 lbs)
  • Pop. Trend: Increasing

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.

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.

Distribution

iberian lynx range map
Click image for larger map

Iberian lynx are found only in two small areas of southwest Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, west of the Pyrenees mountains. Despite extensive surveys, they have not been detected in Portugal since the 1990’s.

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.

Home ranges in Donana National Park 9.5 km²  for females, and 18.2 km²  for males. Male territories overlap those of several females.

Habitat

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.

Ecology

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 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.

Reproduction

Mating season runs from December to February. One to four, usually 2-3, kittens are born after a gestation period of 60-70 days. Females choose small cavities (rock caves, branch piles, dense bushes, hollow trees, etc.) as breeding dens. The peak birthing season is March and April in central and southern Spain. Kittens stay in the natal den for the first 20 days, after which their mother moves them to as many as three or four other dens. This may give them more room as they begin to develop their motor skills, as well as help protect them against being discovered by predators as fecal material and smells build up. It may also help avoid parasite build up in any single den. Kittens are eating solid food by 28 days but will nurse for 3-4 months becoming independent around 10 months of age.

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. 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.

Threats

  • habitat destruction and alteration due to agricultural and 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

Conservation

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.

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.

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.

In 2002, a recovery program of captive breeding was initiated. Following the program’s implementation, the number of cubs soon exceeded the facilities’ capacity, and five more centers were opened to house the animals, including the first in Portugal in 2014.

The second aim of the project is working in the field, restoring habitat and increasing rabbit numbers with a view towards reintroduction. A specialist in both prey and habitat, the cat’s survival is intimately tied to the survival of their main prey species: the rabbit. Historically, rabbits were highly abundant on the Iberian peninsula. But after two viral illnesses in the 1900’s, rabbit numbers had dwindled by up to 90 percent. Whenever the rabbit population has grown significantly, another virus strain strikes back, reducing the number of prey animals for the cats.

The first lynx from the captive breeding project were reintroduced into a new area in Andalusia in 2009. Officials release captive-bred lynx in areas of appropriate habitat, rabbit abundance, and acceptance by the local human population. By 2019, the population in the wild was estimated to be 400 cats.

In 2015 the Iberian lynx was officially downgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered. Although the species may not be completely secure yet, it has undoubtedly been brought back from almost certain extinction. Further action is still needed to save the Iberian lynx such as continuous effort to stimulate rabbit recovery, enhance habitat quality and connectivity, combat threats, and the restocking and release of lynx in new areas to connect populations. There is a need to implement recovery plans in all regions where the lynx once occurred over the past decades and to continue to carefully monitor the Iberian lynx as well as the conservation measures that are in place.

Compare this cat to the wide-ranging European Lynx.

Range map IUCN Red List (2015)

Updated 2020

42 Responses

  1. Sophia Baltzer

    How many Iberian Lynx are left now?
    I wouldn’t want this freaking amazing, my favorite animal, to go extinct….

  2. Kevin Ellis

    Hello!
    I am a teacher of Global Citizenship in Green Brook, New Jersey, and my 8th graders finish their program with a large research project and presentation.  Each student in the program chooses their own topic and does their own research.  One of my students was inspired by your work and chose to study the Iberian Lynx. She would love to send her presentation to you, if you’re able to give feedback.  She would be delighted to hear from you. Is there an easy way for her to send the presentation to you via a .mov file on Google Drive?
    Thank you!

  3. Sombra

    What are some examples of symbiosis(parasite, mutualism, commensalism) with the Iberian Lynx?

  4. Pat Bumstead

    Unless you live in Spain, there is actually nothing you can do to help Iberian Lynx. The in-situ breeding program has many sponsors, and the challenge now is to save their habitat, ensure they have enough prey, and prevent road kills.

  5. My Baby Lynx

    Hello,i’m in need of some ‘critical’ information. I need to know the Iberian Lynx adaptations, for a project. I only need to know five, but most websites don’t mention any, or if they do its very few, and doesn’t include many details.Iv’e tried many websites and have had no such luck. That’s all i wanted to ask, thank you. -Baby Lynx

  6. Pat Bumstead

    It was more likely the pelt of a Eurasian lynx. The fur trade uses smaller sections from many animals, using only the ‘best fur’, so one fur coat means the death of more than one cat. There has never been enough Iberian lynx to supply any kind of fur trade, legal or illegal. The Eurasian species is still legally taken for the fur trade in many countries. Their pelage does vary in colour and some of them do resemble Iberian lynx.

  7. Philippa haselgrove

    In 2007 I was in Patagonia, and While on a tour, observed a cashed up woman wearing an unusual fur coat. The pelts were small 2-21/2 feet, and had the colouring and spotting of the Iberian Lynx. A Spanish woman told me this could not be possible because they are on the endangered list, but a good fur coat can last for a long time. Could I have been correct in my identification?

  8. Steven Briggs

    Watched Portuguese documentary on the dwindling rabbit supply in the Wild and the Answer is.
    Australian rabbits are original Spanish stock taken to England by the Romans they thrive in our Dry climate and
    have survived all attempts at eradication where the Portuguese Rabbit has not.
    This includes Calcivirus and Myxomatosis most are now immune to both with the population springing back rapidly.
    The solution import Australian rabbits immune to both diseases and native to the environment.

  9. Pat Bumstead

    Lynx den in rock piles, heavy brush or areas with fallen trees – anything that provides a large enough space to keep the kittens hidden.

  10. Sunny

    I read through your passage, and it never talks about the dens. What are they made of?

  11. Pat Bumstead

    Iberian Lynx were classed as Critically Endangered in 2002, and upgraded to Endangered in 2015. The lynx were being hunted for two reasons. Farmers killed them as a form of predator control, shooting the cats on site as they assumed lynx would eat their domestic livestock. Local people also hunted the rabbits for food, so again they shot the cats so they couldn’t eat the rabbits. The real cause of the cats rapid decline was not hunting, but a disease that wiped out almost the entire rabbit population. Iberian lynx are specialist feeders and do not switch to other prey if rabbits are scarce.

    Due to wide ranging, long-running educational programs people are no longer hunting the lynx, although they are occasionally caught in traps set for other animals. The main threats to the Iberian Lynx now are death by automobile and loss of habitat. Poaching is no longer a major concern but I’m sure there are still a few individuals who know the law and don’t care.

  12. Jen

    I have a few questions that none of the articles I’ve read on the Iberian Lynx seem to answer. The first one, is when were the lynx first put on the critically endangered list? And second, why were the lynx being hunted in the first place? I know that up until the 50’s, the Spanish government offered a bounty for dead lynx, but why is it that today, they are still being poached despite the heavy fines? Is it because of their fur? Or because they are competing with hunters for European Rabbits? Thanks for the other information in this article though! It really helped me get facts for my essay!

  13. Pat Bumstead

    What a very good question! We will have to edit our fact sheet to include this information.

    In 1999, there were an estimated 1,100 Iberian Lynx in Spain. 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 its native habitat. They were also being hunted by people.

    While losing its 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. Iberian Lynx would have disappeared completely if not for the captive breeding program, which is now reintroducing them to protected habitats in Spain and Portugal.

  14. Michael Fortin

    could you explain how the Iberian lynx got endangered in the first place

  15. Paleo

    Thanks for writing a good article! I will do all I can to protect Iberian Cat.

  16. Pat Bumstead

    There are now a few Iberian lynx in Portugal, as they have been reintroducing them there for the last couple of years. We obviously need to update our fact sheet!

  17. Pat Bumstead

    That’s not true, actually. Most of the small wild cats in south east Asia are popular on human menus. There are also some South American cats that are eaten by the local people.

  18. Lynx

    So there are definitely none in Portugal? Wikipedia and the WWF website says there are

  19. Username*

    Very interested to hear more about project, especially now as in the UK a similar situation for our own lynx is being suggested.

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