Current:Home > FinanceIberian lynx rebounds from brink of extinction, hailed as the "greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved" -TrueNorth Finance Path
Iberian lynx rebounds from brink of extinction, hailed as the "greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved"
View
Date:2025-04-13 22:16:28
Things are looking up for the Iberian lynx. Just over two decades ago, the pointy-eared wild cat was on the brink of extinction, but as of Thursday the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it's no longer an endangered species.
Successful conservation efforts mean that the animal, native to Spain and Portugal, is now barely a vulnerable species, according to the latest version of the IUCN Red List.
In 2001, there were only 62 mature Iberian lynx - medium-sized, mottled brown cats with characteristic pointed ears and a pair of beard-like tufts of facial hair - on the Iberian Peninsula. The species' disappearance was closely linked to that of its main prey, the European rabbit, as well as habitat degradation and human activity.
According to WWF, the Iberian lynx will also eat ducks, young deer and partridges if rabbit densities are low. An adult lynx needs about one rabbit a day, but a mother needs to catch about three to feed her young.
Alarms went off and breeding, reintroduction and protection projects were started, as well as efforts to restore habitats like dense woodland, Mediterranean scrublands and pastures. More than two decades later, in 2022, nature reserves in southern Spain and Portugal contained 648 adult specimens. The latest census, from last year, shows that there are more than 2,000 adults and juveniles, the IUCN said.
"It's a really huge success, an exponential increase in the population size," Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the IUCN Red list unit, told The Associated Press.
One of the keys to their recovery has been the attention given to the rabbit population, which had been affected by changes in agricultural production. Their recovery has led to a steady increase in the lynx population, Hilton-Taylor said.
"The greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved through conservation (...) is the result of committed collaboration between public bodies, scientific institutions, NGOs, private companies, and community members including local landowners, farmers, gamekeepers and hunters," Francisco Javier Salcedo Ortiz, who coordinates the EU-funded LIFE Lynx-Connect project, said in a statement.
IUCN has also worked with local communities to raise awareness of the importance of the Iberian lynx in the ecosystem, which helped reduce animal deaths due poaching and roadkill. In 2014, 22 of the animals were killed by vehicles, according to WWF.
In addition, farmers receive compensation if the cats kill any of their livestock, Hilton-Taylor said.
Since 2010, more than 400 Iberian lynx have been reintroduced to parts of Portugal and Spain, and now they occupy at least 3,320 square kilometers, an increase from 449 square kilometers in 2005.
"We have to consider every single thing before releasing a lynx, and every four years or so we revise the protocols," said Ramón Pérez de Ayala, the World Wildlife Fund's Spain species project manager. WWF is one of the NGOs involved in the project.
While the latest Red List update offers hope for other species in the same situation, the lynx isn't out of danger just yet, says Hilton-Taylor.
The biggest uncertainty is what will happens to rabbits, an animal vulnerable to virus outbreaks, as well as other diseases that could be transmitted by domestic animals.
"We also worried about issues with climate change, how the habitat will respond to climate change, especially the increasing impact of fires, as we've seen in the Mediterranean in the last year or two," said Hilton-Taylor.
A 2013 study warned that the Iberian lynx could be extinct within the next 50 years because of the effects of climate change.
Next week, IUCN will release a broader Red List update which serves as a barometer of biodiversity, Reuters reported.
- In:
- Endangered Species
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- At the New York Film Festival, an art form at play
- Fed’s favored inflation gauge shows cooling price pressures, clearing way for more rate cuts
- Waffle House closes Tallahassee-area locations as Hurricane Helene approaches Florida
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- Louisiana prosecutors drop most serious charge in deadly arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene
- Score Early Black Friday Deals Now: Huge Savings You Can't Miss With $388 Off Apple iPads & More
- Ex-'Apprentice’ candidates dump nearly entire stake in owner of Trump’s Truth Social platform
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Meeting Messi is dream come true for 23 Make-A-Wish families
Ranking
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- Takeaways on AP’s story about challenges to forest recovery and replanting after wildfires
- At the New York Film Festival, an art form at play
- Meeting Messi is dream come true for 23 Make-A-Wish families
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- Foo Fighters scrap Soundside Music Festival performance after Dave Grohl controversy
- Watch: Grounds crew helps Athletics fans get Oakland Coliseum souvenir
- AP Week in Pictures: Global
Recommendation
Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
Fed’s favored inflation gauge shows cooling price pressures, clearing way for more rate cuts
Are flying, venomous Joro spiders moving north? New England resident captures one on camera
Oakland A's play final game at the Coliseum: Check out the best photos
Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
Are flying, venomous Joro spiders moving north? New England resident captures one on camera
California man faces federal charge in courthouse bomb explosion
Is there a better live sonic feast than Jeff Lynne's ELO? Not a chance.