Why is the Iberian Lynx an Endangered Species?
MAY 9, 2024
First of all let's talk a bit about what exactly is an Iberian Lynx. The Iberian lynx is an elusive Apex predator, native to the oak forests of Spain and Portugal. It is the smallest of the four lynx species which include the Canadian lynx, the bobcat as it is known in the US and the Eurasian lynx which is twice its size. It is characterised by a spotted coat, tufted ears, a forked beard and a short tail and is most active at dawn and dusk as it hunts.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the Iberian lynx was the most endangered feline species on the planet. Over the last 100 years, the species has experienced a "Perfect Storm" of events that pushed it to the brink of extinction.This "Perfect Storm" consists of three main factors: habitat reduction, depletion of food sources and hunting making us humans responsible for 2 out of 3 factors. Let's dig a bit deeper into the details.
In 1953, Spain's dictator Francisco Franco enacted a law that increased the killing of both Lynx's and rabbits. The "Ley de Alimañas" labeled both as Vermin and encouraged their slaughter. Today, this kind of decree would be unthinkable but then it was a law and dictators get to do whatever they want, often unguided by those who really understand the consequences. Adding to this human effect is that a significant number of Lynx's are killed on rural roads on Andalucia each year as well as victims of secret Lynx hunts by hunters who have a different opinion about the definition of "Endangered Species".
Furthermore, the world population 100 years ago was just under 2 billion people and today we're over 8 billion and growing exponentially. Advances in organized agriculture and rapid industrial development have simply decimated their habitat. Shockingly, between 1985 and 2001, the lynx’s range shrank by a whopping 87% and the number of reproductive females fell by over 90%. Consequentially by 2002, there were only two isolated populations left on the planet, and worse yet there were just 25 breeding females.
As with any animal, if Lynx's don't have enough food, they don't think about reproduction as all their time is spent trying to eat stay alive. To that end, there was a serious rabbit myxomatosis outbreak in the 1950s followed by a hemorrhagic disease outbreak in the 1980s. Myxomatosis is a disease caused by Myxoma virus, a poxvirus in the genus Leporipoxvirus and while it is deadly to European Rabbits it is not fatal to American Rabbits. Then, in the late 1980's and again in 2011, rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) pummeled the rabbit population in Spain killing between 50 and 80% of the Lynx's primary food source. It's a tough time to be an Iberian Lynx.
Now that you have heard the bad news, here's the good news.
After 20 years of conservation by the EU, Spain, Portugal and various animal NGOs have helped send the Iberian Lynx on its way from an "Endangered Species" to "Vulnerable" but we aren't out of the woods yet. There's a 19 million Euro budget for Iberian Lynx conservation but it seems that a critical part of the program's success is the Public Relations campaign to win over the landowners, hunters and the general public. Change is rarely easy. With more than 1800 Iberian Lynx estimated in existence today things are certainly moving in the right direction. In the early 2000's, that number was around 100.
During the first week of May, 2024 I'm headed to Andalucia for 4 or 5 days to try and capture some images of this rare and shy cat. I am registered with an organization that has various hides near watering holes which attract the animals and are strategically placed for photography. Happily, they also contribute part of their fee towards Lynx conservation. Unsurprisingly, I am really looking forward to sharing with you some images of this beautiful animal so stay tuned for those..
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