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Twenty years ago, the Iberian lynx was considered the most endangered wild cat on the planet, with fewer than 100 individuals surviving in the wild. Today there are 2,401 of them spread across Spain and Portugal, and for the first time the populations in both countries are mixing freely, something conservationists are describing as little short of remarkable.

 

The turnaround began with captive breeding and reintroduction programmes in the early 2000s, which gradually evolved into a network of wildlife corridors allowing the lynx to move naturally between regions.

 

The first signs of independent travel appeared in 2019 around Mértola and the Algarve in southern Portugal, and from there the model was rolled out across Andalucia, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Murcia, enabling different population groups to interbreed and strengthen the species' genetic health considerably.

 

European funding, particularly through the LIFE environmental programme, played a crucial role in creating and maintaining those corridors. Hunters, farmers and local residents have also been brought into the project, with awareness campaigns, murals, sculptures and school workshops in towns across both countries helping to build public understanding of the lynx's ecological value.

 

According to Spain's Ministry for Ecological Transition, the 2,401 animals currently recorded represent a dramatic recovery.

 

Spain accounts for 2,047 of those, with 942 in Castilla-La Mancha and 836 in Andalucia. Extremadura has 254, while populations in Murcia are still growing, thanks in large part to the reintroduction programme in the Lorca highlands. Portugal has reached a record 354.

 

Conservationists are keen to point out that the job isn't finished yet, though. Proposed cuts to EU environmental budgets from 2028 onwards could slow the species' expansion, and continued cooperation from rural communities remains essential to the project's long-term success.