- The total lynx census reaches 2,021 individuals, with 1,299 adults or sub-adults and 722 cubs born last year.
- After exceeding 1,000 specimens in 2020, the Iberian population has doubled in just three years.
- The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge manages two of the four existing captive breeding centers
The census of the Iberian lynx(Lynx pardinus) in Spain and Portugal carried out during 2023 has shown that the species has surpassed the 2,000 mark, which is a new maximum number since detailed monitoring of its populations has been carried out. This is reflected in the report prepared by the Iberian lynx working group, coordinated by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and composed of representatives of the Spanish autonomous communities and the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) of Portugal.
The document shows that there are 2,021 total lynxes registered, distributed in Spain (1,730, which represents 85.6%) and Portugal (291). There are four Spanish autonomous communities with stable populations of the species. Andalusia hosted 755 specimens, which represents 43.6% of the Spanish population, while Castilla-La Mancha recorded 715 lynxes (41.3%). In Extremadura 253 specimens were recorded and in the Region of Murcia seven specimens.
Of the total number of lynx counted, 1,299 were adults or sub-adults with a sex distribution of 1.01 in favor of females (602 males and 611 females that could be sexed). The number of breeding or territorial females in 2023 amounted to 406, which is 80 more than in 2022, and which is gradually approaching the 750 breeding females that is preliminarily considered as one of the demographic objectives to be reached in order to consider the lynx to be in a favorable conservation status. The number of pups born in 2023 also increased to 722, with a fecundity rate of 1.77 calculated as the number of pups born divided by the number of territorial females.
The lynx population continues to expand, both numerically and territorially. There are already 14 different geographical areas where the species breeds and new areas of stable presence in the Region of Murcia and in the provinces of Albacete, Badajoz, Toledo and Ciudad Real. The population trend has been positive and continuous since 2015, which allows us to remain optimistic about the reduction in the risk of extinction of the Iberian lynx that it represents. Over a period of about 20 years, the population has grown from less than 100 individuals counted in 2022 to more than 2,000 in 2023. And in recent years the increase is even more remarkable, since in 2020 the total population was 1,111 lynxes and three years later almost 900 more individuals have been added to the Iberian population.
The technical report prepared by the Iberian lynx working group in Spain and Portugal, made up of the competent environmental administrations, can be consulted on the MITECO website.
A COORDINATED PROGRAM THAT DELIVERS RESULTS
The recovery of the Iberian lynx population in Spain and Portugal is one of the best examples of conservation actions for endangered species in the world and has been possible thanks to the coordinated efforts of both the competent public administrations and interested sectoral entities, owners and managers of private estates and society in general. The financial contribution of the Spanish and Portuguese administrations and of the European Union, through the LIFE program, have been key to the execution of monitoring and research work and to the improvement of survival, reproduction and habitat improvement rates.
The ex situ conservation program, which includes captive breeding and the reintroduction of specimens, has also been a key element in the recovery of the lynx. It has been carried out under a fruitful cooperation and coordination between the Portuguese and Spanish authorities, articulated within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding for the development of a single coordinated program of actions for the implementation of the Iberian Lynx Conservation Strategy in Spain. Captive breeding is a very important economic effort for the administrations that have been covering this cost with their own means, which are the ICNF of Portugal in the Silves breeding center, the Junta de Andalucía in the center of La Olivilla (Jaén) and the Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales del MITECO in the centers of Zarza de Granadilla (Cáceres) and El Acebuche (Huelva).
Since the first releases of captive-born individuals into the wild began in 2011, 372 specimens have been reintroduced by 2023. The reintroduction areas initially selected for lynx release, which were Vale do Guadiana in Portugal, Guarrizas and Guadalmellato in Andalusia, Montes de Toledo and Sierra Morena Oriental in Castilla-La Mancha, and Matachel in Extremadura, have recently been joined by new reintroduction areas approved by the Iberian lynx working group, as the ecological and social requirements for reintroduction have been met. Thus, the nuclei of Sierra Arana in Andalusia, Valdecañas-Ibores and Ortiga in Extremadura, Tierras Altas de Lorca in the Region of Murcia and Campos de Hellín in Castilla-La Mancha already have released and settled specimens of Iberian lynx. Other connection areas also host lynx on a stable basis, either through releases of captive-born specimens or through natural settlements of wild specimens, in the provinces of Seville, Toledo or in the Cabañeros National Park.
It is expected that the number of areas selected for reintroduction will increase in the coming months and years, due to the interest of several autonomous communities in evaluating the suitability of lynx recovery in their territories.
