The return of the Iberian lynx: A wild cat’s journey from the brink of extinction
In the dusty heart of the Andalusian countryside, just before dusk, a small figure creeps through the thyme and rockrose. Tufted ears flick in the fading light, golden eyes fixed on a rabbit in the undergrowth. Silent, poised, unmistakable – the Iberian lynx is hunting. Not so long ago, such a sight would have been unthinkable…
At the start of the 21st century, this wild cat, endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, was on the brink of extinction. There were only two breeding populations left, totalling less than 100 individuals. Isolated in the Doñana wetlands and the rugged Sierra de Andújar, they were ghostly remnants of a species that had once roamed much of Spain and Portugal.
The threats were many and relentless.
European rabbit populations – the lynx’s main prey – had collapsed under successive waves of disease. Roads cut through prime habitat, killing dozens of lynx every year in collisions. Urban sprawl, agriculture and eucalyptus plantations chewed up the Mediterranean scrub that had long sheltered them. Even the genes of the survivors were in trouble: inbreeding had taken its toll, limiting their evolutionary options.
And yet, against all odds, the Iberian lynx has made a comeback.
By 2002, the Spanish authorities, conservation NGOs and scientists agreed that there was no time to waste. What followed was one of the most ambitious species recovery programmes ever launched in Europe. Supported by EU LIFE funding and national governments, teams of researchers, vets, rangers and local landowners set to work.
Captive breeding centres were set up in Andalusia, Extremadura and Portugal. Genomic tools guided mating to preserve the limited genetic diversity that remained. Lynx cubs born in semi-wild enclosures were raised for release. Meanwhile, the landscape itself began to change. Fields were restored to scrub, rabbit populations were boosted and underpasses were built.
It worked.
By 2012, the wild population had crept past 150. By 2023, it had risen to over 1,600, with nearly 650 mature adults recorded in more than a dozen areas. The lynx had returned not only to Andalusia, but also to Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura and key areas in Portugal.
In March 2024, after more than two decades of hard-won progress, the IUCN officially reclassified the Iberian lynx from Endangered to Vulnerable. The world’s most endangered cat was no longer on the brink.
Behind the comeback is an infrastructure of precision and perseverance.
Every released lynx is fitted with a GPS collar; every new den is monitored. Disease surveillance is constant. Biologists track the spread of rabbit haemorrhagic disease and myxomatosis as closely as the lynx themselves. The whole recovery depends on the delicate balance of prey availability.
Backed by nearly €19 million in EU funding, the LIFE LynxConnect project is ongoing, to reconnect fragmented lynx populations and ensure the species’ long-term survival by expanding its range. Using advanced habitat modelling and genetic mapping, conservationists are identifying not only where the Iberian lynx once lived – but where it could thrive again.
There is even talk of reintroducing the species in northern Spain and possibly one day in southern France. Fossil evidence suggests that the lynx once roamed much of the Iberian Peninsula and beyond.
But conservationists are cautious.
Although the population is growing, it is still heavily dependent on human support. Genetic diversity is still limited. Roads, disease and habitat loss remain threats. And political will – so crucial to long-term funding and land-use decisions – can shift with elections and economic tides.
Nevertheless, in an age of accelerating extinction, the Iberian lynx is proof that recovery is possible – even for species on the brink. Its return has brought more than ecological value: it has revived local pride, created rural jobs and united scientists, farmers, politicians and citizens in a common cause.
Not every threatened species will be so lucky. But the Iberian lynx is a reminder of what can be achieved when knowledge, funding and commitment come together – and the will to act is there in the nick of time.
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