I often joke that we, journalists dedicated to the climate and environmental crisis, are a bit like the “heralds of the Apocalypse”. We write almost every day about imminent catastrophes, terrifying predictions and irreparable losses of biodiversity. Last week, however, it was different: I wrote a happy ending text. The Iberian lynx is no longer classified as “endangered” on the Red List.
At the turn of the century, there were no Iberian lynxes (Lynx panther) in Portugal. Conservation technicians concluded that the existing population was restricted to the Spanish region of Andalusia, more precisely to the Morena mountain range and the Doñana National Park. Censuses suggested total numbers of less than 100 individuals.
It is true that there were reports of wandering lynxes in Portugal – or, as they say in scientific language, dispersing specimens –, as João Alves, technician at the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) and coordinator of the reintroduction program, told Azul. of the Iberian lynx in Portugal. But these rare episodes did not indicate the existence of a population, but rather of one or another dispersed individual.
“One of the Silves Chamber technicians remembers that his grandfather caught a baby lynx in the Serra de Monchique. They didn’t really understand what it was at the time, they thought it was a cat and his grandfather raised and domesticated the lynx with his But when the lynx grew up, they realized that it was not a cat. This is complete proof that, in fact, at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, there could still be one or another dispersing, wandering animal”, says João Alves. .
In two decades, we went from the level of near extinction to vulnerability. An Iberian conservation program for this wild species made it possible to reverse the extremely serious population decline of the Lynx panther. The total census in Portugal and Spain reached the mark of 2021 individuals in 2023, including 722 cubs born last year. In 2022, the value recorded was 1668. The Iberian lynx population in both countries doubled in just three years.
What this success story shows is that the conservation effort is worth it. From caring for the cubs at the National Iberian Lynx Reproduction Center, in Silves, to the work of recovering habitat and making prey available, wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), there are several lines of action necessary to conserve the Iberian lynx. All of this required a lot of technical work, but also the support of the community and local entities.
In conversation with Azul, Francisco Javier Salcedo Ortiz, coordinator of the Life Lynx-Connect project, emphasizes that the secret is to involve different entities and groups around the wild species that we want to protect. João Alves, from ICNF, agrees: without raising awareness among hunters, farmers, forest owners, livestock breeders and students, it would not have been possible to reach a successful conclusion.
Now that the Iberian lynx is on a good conservation trajectory, it is almost inevitable that we think about other threatened animals in Portugal. Would this model work for the Iberian wolf (Sealed wolf dog), for example? Or to another equally charismatic wild feline, in this case the wild cat (Wild cats)?
The wildcat population is in sharp decline in Portugal, with there being less than 100 mature individuals, in a total area of occupation of less than 500 square kilometers. Montesinho Park is one of the last refuges of this species which, as it belongs to the same family, and is equally photogenic, could one day become as beloved as the Iberian lynx.
Already Scotland, for example, where wildcats were on the brink of extinction in 2018, a conservation program, EU Life Saving Wildcats, is being developed, led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. The project has already borne fruit: two litters of wild kittens were born after the release of 19 individuals into the wild in the summer of 2023, announced the Saving Wildcats last week. It’s more good news. And once again, it’s proof that conservation efforts work.
