The Most Endangered Feline on Earth

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN SPAIN

The eyesight and reflexes of the lynx have long been proverbial. When a person has a clear view of matters, Spaniards say he has “the eyes of a lynx.” Unfortunately, the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is now known for something else that has nothing to do with its eyesight or its shrewdness. It has been rated “the most endangered cat species in the world.” *

Years ago the Iberian lynx was found throughout Portugal and Spain and probably even as far as the French Pyrenees. Nowadays, a few scattered groups survive in the southwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. Only about two of these groups have viable breeding populations, however, and the overall number of lynx has dropped alarmingly.

According to some estimates, the number of Iberian lynx has now plummeted to fewer than 200. What has caused this catastrophic decline? Some say that the main reason is the critical shortage of its principal prey, the rabbit, which has been decimated by several epidemics of myxomatosis. In addition, some lynx have fallen victim to the snares of poachers or have been killed on the highways. And suitable habitat has become more and more fragmented. A recent World Wildlife Fund report notes that these problems have led the dwindling population to become isolated in small pockets.

Although some 35 million dollars (U.S.) has been set aside to save the embattled lynx, a group of experts recently described the situation as “dramatic.” According to Nicolás Guzmán, the coordinator of the National Plan for the Conservation of the Iberian Lynx, among the fewer than 200 remaining animals in the wild, ‘only between 22 and 32 are females capable of reproducing.’ He added, ‘The survival of the species will depend on them.’ Sad to say, the story of the Iberian lynx reflects the situation of all too many of earth’s beautiful creatures.

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[Picture Credit Lines on page 18]

Foto © Fernando Ortega

sos lynx