{"id":97875897,"date":"2026-06-05T13:56:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T11:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fundacion-biodiversidad.es\/notas_de_prensa_mite\/the-iberian-lynx-population-reached-2663-specimens-in-2025\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T13:56:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T11:56:28","slug":"the-iberian-lynx-population-reached-2663-specimens-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"notas_de_prensa_mite","link":"https:\/\/fundacion-biodiversidad.es\/en\/notas_de_prensa_mite\/the-iberian-lynx-population-reached-2663-specimens-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The Iberian lynx population reached 2,663 specimens in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>The census population was made up of 1,711 adults or subadults and 952 puppies, with Castilla-La Mancha being the autonomous community with the highest productivity rates and number of specimens: 1,051<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The population increased by 10.9% compared to 2024, with 262 more individuals registered, and has practically doubled in just four years<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) population reached a new record high in 2025 since coordinated monitoring data began, reaching 2,663 individuals registered. This figure represents an increase of 10.9% compared to 2024, when 2,401 specimens were registered, and around 95% between 2021 and 2025. The data show the continuation of the positive demographic trend of the species in the last 25 years, a period in which coordinated conservation programs for the Iberian lynx have been developed in Spain and Portugal.  <\/p>\n<p>The details of this new census are included in the report prepared by the Iberian lynx working group, which is coordinated by the Directorate General of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and which is made up of representatives of the Spanish autonomous communities and the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) of Portugal.<\/p>\n<p>Of the total of 2,663 lynxes registered, 2,269 were registered in Spain (85%) and 394 in Portugal. The Spanish autonomous communities that housed lynxes in their territories and contributed data to the census were six: Castilla-La Mancha hosted 1,051 specimens, which represents 46.3% of the Spanish population, while in Andalusia 885 lynxes (39%) were registered. The three main geographical areas for the Iberian lynx are found in Sierra Morena with 1,145 individuals counted, in nuclei shared by the autonomous communities of Andalusia (613 specimens in the nuclei of Sierra Morena Oriental in Ja\u00e9n and C\u00f3rdoba, and 61 in areas of connection of Sierra Morena) and Castilla-La Mancha (471 lynxes in several nuclei of the provinces of Ciudad Real and Albacete). In Extremadura, 302 specimens were counted and in the Region of Murcia, 19. In 2025, lynxes were also registered in Castilla y Le\u00f3n (11 individuals) thanks to the start of the reintroduction project in the Cerrato region of Palencia, and in the Community of Madrid there was a specimen settled in the east of the region.    <\/p>\n<p>Of the total census, 1,711 lynxes were adults or subadults who presented a balanced sex distribution (824 males and 791 females that could be sexed). The number of breeding or territorial females in 2025 amounted to 542, which is 72 more than in 2024. This number of breeding females is approaching more and more every year, which is considered a demographic milestone to consider that the lynx is in a favorable conservation status. The number of puppies born in 2025 reached 952, with a fertility rate of 1.75 calculated as the number of puppies born by the number of territorial females.   <\/p>\n<p>The lynx population continues to expand and its presence has been confirmed in up to 26 different geographical centers. In 18 of these nuclei, the species reproduced in 2025. The population trend is positive; Over a period of 24 years, the population has gone from less than 100 specimens registered in 2002 to 2,663 in 2025. And in recent years the increase is even more remarkable, since in 2021 the total population was 1,365 lynxes and four years later almost twice as many individuals have been added to the Iberian population, which represents an annual growth rate of 24% on average.   <\/p>\n<p>It is important to note that the increase in the lynx population makes it increasingly difficult to register and identify individually all the specimens present in the different nuclei, due to the large amount of logistical resources and effort required to carry out a totally accurate and complete census. This is especially noteworthy in the two autonomous communities that host a greater proportion of the population in Spain (Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha). That is why the figures given for the 2025 census should be considered as a minimum number of lynxes.  <\/p>\n<p>The technical report prepared within the working group of the Iberian lynx in Spain and Portugal, made up of the competent environmental administrations, can be consulted on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miteco.gob.es\/es\/biodiversidad\/temas\/inventarios-nacionales\/inventario-especies-terrestres\/ieet_mamiferos.html\">the MITECO website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>CONTINUATION OF THE LYNX CONSERVATION EFFORT AND COORDINATED<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n PROGRAMMESThe population growth of the Iberian lynx in Spain and Portugal continues to be a global example of the success of a conservation program for endangered species. Thanks to the efforts made by both the competent public administrations and interested sectoral entities, owners and managers of private estates and society in general, the lynx is advancing in its territorial and numerical expansion. In addition, there is a continued interest in recovering its former distribution in Spain and there are several regional administrations that develop or propose the execution of new projects for the reintroduction of the species.  <\/p>\n<p>Despite the good prospects for the lynx, there are still threat factors to be faced to ensure the achievement of a favourable conservation status. The rates of unnatural mortality recorded are still worrying and in 2025 273 lynx deaths were detected, of which 212 (77.9%) were due to being run over on road infrastructure. This highlights the importance of advancing in the work to implement the Iberian lynx conservation strategy in Spain and Portugal, approved in 2024 by the Sectoral Conference on the Environment, and the Spanish Strategy for Green Infrastructure and Ecological Connectivity and Restoration, to improve the defragmentation of habitats between geographical nuclei where the species settles in our country.  <\/p>\n<p>Captive breeding work and the reintroduction of the Iberian lynx are proving essential for the recovery of the lynx. 2025 marked 20 years since the start of the off-site coordinated programme. 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 Andaluc\u00eda in the center of La Olivilla (Ja\u00e9n) and the Autonomous Organization of National Parks (OAPN) of MITECO in the centers of Zarza de Granadilla (C\u00e1ceres) and El Acebuche (Huelva).  <\/p>\n<p>Since the first releases of individuals born in captivity into the wild began in 2011, until 2025, 424 specimens have been reintroduced in different areas that have favorable ecological and socio-environmental conditions to host Iberian lynxes. In recent years, new reintroduction areas have been incorporated into the reintroduction areas initially selected for the release of lynxes in Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Portugal, approved by the Iberian lynx working group coordinated by the Directorate General of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification of MITECO. In 2025 it was Castilla y Le\u00f3n that began the work to release lynxes in the Cerrato Palentino, and in 2026 the first lynxes have been reintroduced in the Ebro Valley, in the Huerva River area of the province of Zaragoza, in a project led by the Government of Aragon. In this new phase of geographical expansion, it is proposed to expand and consolidate the distribution of the lynx in new areas, both in new autonomous communities and in new nuclei of Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha, which will contribute to reducing the risk of extinction of the Iberian lynx.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-97875897","notas_de_prensa_mite","type-notas_de_prensa_mite","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Iberian lynx population reached 2,663 specimens in 2025 - Fundaci\u00f3n Biodiversidad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fundacion-biodiversidad.es\/en\/notas_de_prensa_mite\/the-iberian-lynx-population-reached-2663-specimens-in-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Iberian lynx population reached 2,663 specimens in 2025 - 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