Iberian lynx
The Iberian lynx is one of the four extant species of the Lynx, a genus of medium-sized wild cats. It is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. Fossils suggest that it has been present in Iberia since the end of the Early Pleistocene around. It is a monotypic species and is thought to have evolved from Lynx issiodorensis.
The Iberian lynx population declined in the 20th century primarily due to overhunting, poaching, fragmentation of suitable habitats, and the population decline of its main prey species, such as the European rabbit, caused by myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease. By the turn of the 21st century, the Iberian lynx was on the verge of extinction, as only 94 individuals survived in two isolated subpopulations in Andalusia in 2002. Since then, conservation measures have been implemented, which included improving habitat, restocking of rabbits, translocating, reintroducing, and monitoring Iberian lynxes. Between 2012 and 2024, the population had increased from a low of 326 individuals to some 2,021, leading to its reclassification as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Taxonomy
Felis pardina was the scientific name proposed by Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1827 who described skins of Iberian lynxes that were killed in the area of the Tagus river in Portugal and were traded in Paris and London. It is a monotypic species.Phylogeny
The Iberian lynx is suggested to have evolved from Lynx issiodorensis. Its earliest known fossil remains date to the end of the Early Pleistocene, around one million years ago.The Iberian lynx genetically diverged as a unique species 1.98 to 0.7 million years ago. Its closest living relative is the Eurasian lynx with which it coexisted until the 20th century.
Characteristics
The Iberian lynx has a short, bright yellowish to tawny coloured spotted fur. The spots vary in shape and size from small round to elongate. They are arranged in lines and decrease in size from the back toward the sides. There are two basic coat-pattern variations: one with many, very small brown to blackish spots in Sierra Morena, and the other with less, but larger spots that form dotted lines in Doñana. Its head is small with tufted ears and a ruff. Its body is short with long legs and a short tail. Head and body length of males is with a long tail and a weight of. Females are smaller with a head-to-body-length of approximately and a weight of.The Iberian lynx with white fur has been recorded twice in total. On 22 October 2025, a white Iberian lynx was photographed for the first time in Jaén, Spain.
Distribution and habitat
The Iberian lynx was once present throughout the Iberian Peninsula. In the 1950s, the northern population extended from the Mediterranean to Galicia and parts of northern Portugal, and the southern population from central to southern Spain. Populations declined from 15 subpopulations in the 1940s to only two subpopulations in the early 1990s, most noticeably in Montes de Toledo and Sierra Morena. Before 1973, it was present in Sierra de Gata, Montes de Toledo, eastern Sierra Morena, Sierra de Relumbrar and coastal plains in the Doñana area. Between the early 1960s and 2000, it has lost about 80% of its former range. In 2012, it was restricted to very limited areas in southern Spain, with breeding only confirmed in Sierra Morena and Doñana coastal plains.As of 2014, its range included the Sierra Morena and Montes de Toledo of Castilla-La Mancha and the Matachel Valley of Extremadura in Spain, and the Guadiana Valley in Portugal. Stable and viable populations have established themselves had increased to 856 individuals by the end of 2019.
As of 2024, 2,401 individuals were counted, including 2,047 in Spain and 354 in Portugal. The distribution area has expanded, with breeding individuals in the northern and central parts of Extremadura in Valdecañas and Cornalvo Nature Park and the Albacete region in Castilla-La Mancha, the Sierras Subbéticas in Andalusia; an introduction project has been launched in the autonomous region of Murcia.
Fossil remains indicate that the Iberian lynx had a wider range during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Five lynx remains found in Arene Candide in Northern Italy date to about 24,820–18,620 years before present. One specimen found in Cabias cave in southern France was radiocarbon dated to 3780±90 years before present. In 2021, a large concentration of Iberian lynxes dating to 40,000 years ago were found for the first time in southern Italy at the archaeological site of Ingarano in Apulia.
Behaviour and ecology
The Iberian lynx marks its territory with its urine, scratch marks on the barks of trees, and scat. The home ranges of adults are stable over many years. Camera trapping surveys in the eastern Sierra Morena Mountains between 1999 and 2008 revealed that six females had home ranges of. Four males in the area had home ranges of.Diet and hunting
The Iberian lynx preys foremost on the European rabbit for the bulk of its diet, supplemented by red-legged partridge, rodents and, to a smaller degree, also on wild ungulates. It sometimes preys on young fallow deer, European roe deer, European mouflon, and ducks. A male requires one rabbit per day, while a female raising kittens eats three per day.The Iberian lynx has low adaptability and continued to rely heavily on rabbits, which account for 75% of its food intake, despite the latter's repeated population crashes due to myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease. Fecal samples of Iberian lynx contained anaerobic bacteria of the genus Anaeroplasma that suggest gut microbiome helps it digest its rabbit prey and may also aid in the degradation of plant material from the rabbits' guts. Antibiotic resistant bacteria were also found within the digestive tract of wild Iberian lynx.
The Iberian lynx competes for prey with the Iberian wolf, red fox, the Egyptian mongoose, and the European wildcat. Also, it often kills other smaller carnivores such as the aforementioned red fox, Egyptian mongoose and common genet. Fossil leporid accumulations from the Late Pleistocene show that Iberian lynxes in Spain retreated to caves to rest and consume their meals.
Reproduction
The kittens become independent at 7 to 10 months old, but remain with the mother until around 20 months old. Survival of the young depends heavily on the availability of prey species. In the wild, both males and females reach sexual maturity at the age of one year, though in practice they rarely breed until a territory becomes vacant; one female was known not to breed until five years old when her mother died. The maximum longevity in the wild is 13 years.Difficulty in finding mates has led to more inbreeding, which results in fewer kittens and a greater rate of non-traumatic death. Inbreeding leads to lower semen quality and greater rates of infertility in males, hindering efforts to increase the species' fitness.
Threats
The Iberian lynx is threatened by habitat loss, road accidents, and illegal hunting. Habitat loss is due mainly to infrastructure improvement, urban and resort development and tree mono cultivation, which fragments the lynx's distribution. In the 20th century, rabbit diseases such as myxomatosis and hemorrhagic disease resulted in a dramatic decline of its main prey. Further, the lynx was hunted as "vermin" under a law passed under Francisco Franco, from the 1950s to the late 1970s, when the hunting of lynx was prohibited. Secret hunting of lynxes still occurs today and is becoming a serious problem. Illegal traps set for rabbits and foxes were the leading causes for lynx mortality in the 1990s.In addition, every year, several Iberian lynxes die when trying to cross highways with heavy traffic, representing the majority of lynx deaths. In 2013, 14 Iberian lynxes died on roads, and 21 in 2014. In 2023, 144 lynxes were killed on roads.
In 2007, several individuals died of feline leukemia.
Increasing interactions with humans and spread of antibiotic resistant genes between lynx populations could pose a significant threat not only to lynx but also to humans.
Conservation
The Iberian lynx is fully protected and listed on CITES Appendix I, on Appendix II of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and on Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive of the European Union. Since 2024, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as the population has increased to more than 2,000 mature individuals.Conservation measures include restoring its native habitat, maintaining the wild rabbit population, reducing unnatural causes of death, and releasing captive bred individuals.
The Spanish National Commission for the Protection of Nature endorsed the Iberian Lynx Ex Situ Conservation Breeding Program to serve as a "safety net" by managing the captive population and also to "help establish new Iberian lynx free-ranging populations through reintroduction programmes." Before release of captive-bred cats, their natural habit may be simulated to prepare them for life in the wild. A 2006 study used a non-intrusive monitoring system involving cameras to monitor the demographics of both lynxes and rabbits residing in Sierra Morena. Supplemental food sources could be provided if wild rabbits suffered a decline.
Management efforts have been developed to conserve and restore the animal's native range. Officials intending to release captive-bred lynx look for areas of appropriate habitat, rabbit abundance, and acceptance by the local human population. About 90 million euros was spent on various conservation measures between 1994 and 2013. The European Union contributes up to 61% of funding.
Reintroduction programme
Beginning in 2009, the Iberian lynx was reintroduced into Guadalmellato, resulting in a population of 23 in 2013. Since 2010, the species has also been released in Guarrizas. Discussions were held with the Ministry of Environment on plans for releases in the Campanarios de Azaba area near Salamanca. In April 2013, it was reported that Andalusia's total wild population—only 94 in 2002—had tripled to 309 individuals. In July 2013, environmental groups confirmed the presence of a wild-born litter in the Province of Cáceres. A study published in July 2013 in Nature Climate Change advised that reintroduction programs take place in northern Iberia, suggesting that climate change would threaten rabbits in the south.In November 2014, three Iberian lynxes were released in the Montes de Toledo; one of them later traveled near Aranjuez, in the Madrid region, the first time in 40 years.
The presence of Iberian lynxes in Portugal, particularly in the south, has been verified. In 2014, the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests signed contracts securing 2,000 hectares of land for Portugal's reintroduction project.
In 2015, 10 captive-bred Iberian lynxes were released into Guadiana Valley Natural Park and surrounding areas in southeastern Portugal's Guadiana Valley. By the end of 2015, there were 400 lynx on the Iberian peninsula, the vast majority in Andalusia, in southern Spain, but with smaller new populations in the hills near Toledo, in Extremadura and in southern Portugal.
The reintroduction of Iberian lynx in Portugal has been a success; from 17 animals that were reintroduced, 12 have already established territories.
Since a 2007 outbreak of feline leukemia virus, wild lynxes are tested periodically for possible disease. September–December 2013 samples were negative for FeLV but one male became the first of his species to test positive for feline immunodeficiency virus and was placed into quarantine.