Back from the brink: IUCN changes Iberian lynx’s status to ‘vulnerable’ from ‘endangered’ in conservation success story
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Back from the brink: IUCN changes Iberian lynx’s status to ‘vulnerable’ from ‘endangered’ in conservation success story
Sub: Environment
Sec: Species in news
Context:
- The Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) has been reclassified from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN on June 20.
- Population increased from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022.
- Total population, including young lynx, is now over 2,000.
Conservation Efforts:
- Efforts over nearly 25 years have focused on:
- Increasing prey abundance, specifically the Endangered European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
- Protecting and restoring Mediterranean scrub and forest habitats.
- Reducing human-caused deaths.
- Genetic diversity has been expanded through translocations and an ex-situ breeding program.
- Since 2010, over 400 lynxes have been reintroduced to parts of Portugal and Spain.
- Occupied range increased from 449 km² in 2005 to 3,320 km².
Remaining Threats:
- Fluctuations in European rabbit populations due to virus outbreaks.
- Susceptibility to diseases from domestic cats, poaching, road kills, and habitat changes from climate change.
Future Plans:
- Continued efforts are needed for the Iberian lynx to thrive.
- Plans include reintroducing the species to new sites in central and northern Spain.
- Scientists believe the species could reach Fully Recovered status in 100 years if conservation efforts remain effective.
Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus):
- The Iberian lynx is the world’s most endangered feline species.
- Characteristic Features: Of all lynx, the Iberian has the most heavily spotted coat.
- The cat has white underparts. This species, like other cat species, is sexually dimorphic, with males being heavier and longer than females.
- Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species.
- The cat has white underparts. This species, like other cat species, is sexually dimorphic, with males being heavier and longer than 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.
- Iberian lynx are found only in two small areas of southwest Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, west of the Pyrenees mountains.
- 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 Status:
- The Iberian lynx is protected under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Source: DTE